The Difference Between Boys and Girls
by fang shinobi
Summary: AU Summer camp is a bore... until Sakura and Sasuke start this girls versus boys war that could ruin the summer. Hate is such a powerful thing, isn't it? T
1. Intro

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Spoiler: **Contains characters from the post-time skip, aka Shippuuden. **I'm up to date with the manga**. If you don't recognize the characters, just imagine how they look. After all, I've only seen them in the manga, and these could differ from the anime. The colors I follow for the older characters are from the first season anime. I don't watch Shippuuden (because I choose not to) so the rest of the colors are based on colored manga covers.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**SECONDARY WARNING:** _**!!SPOILERS GALORE!!**_ Do not dare read this fic unless you're updated on the manga or willing to get spoiled. _Thank you._

**INTRO**

**DAY 1**

**The Lake 0600 **

Sakura sat on the old wooden dock by the shoreline, taking in the sight. The lake and the lush foliage behind it had a peaceful feel so early in the morning. It was a scene she could watch for ages.

Sitting there in a red and white striped tank top and khaki shorts, she was already getting comfortable in the camp. She also had her carnation pink hair cut above shoulder length to avoid getting hot around the neck for the hot season.

It was, after all, the first day of the summer camp program organized by their high school, the prominent Konoha Institute. It all seemed peculiar to organize such a thing for a selection of high school students who already had their minds set on taking the summer, or at least that camp's fifteen days, on their own pre-decided destinations. The young schoolgirl, being the active student that she was, had decided to volunteer for the program when it was first announced, though no one else in her class had. Her best friend Ino excitedly joined in after her, and soon enough, the two had convinced a few of their friends to join.

Sakura thought about the perks of getting there early – the assembly wasn't until 8. She viewed the wonderful landscape before her, thinking how perfect it all seemed… until…

She jerked up in her seat in surprise at the sight of wildly splashing water a couple of meters away past the buoy line. It only rang one bell in her head – _drowning camper_. She jumped to her feet and ran up the pier to the lifeguard station nearby. A few moments later, she hurriedly returned to the lake with the camp lifeguard in tow.

"Over there!" Sakura shouted, pointing at the wild splashing some distance away from the port. She looked worriedly at the lifeguard but was shocked to see that he didn't seem to be in a hurry to help. "Hey, what's wrong? Aren't you the lifeguard?"

The tall lanky man nodded his head, adjusting the round sunglasses on his nose. "Yes, but those kids aren't drowning."

Sakura gazed out the lake to see that the splashing was approaching them.

The lifeguard, Ebisu, squatted at the edge of the wooden dock, anticipating the arrival of the swimmers. After a while, the pink-haired girl managed to make out the figures of the two boys swimming towards them.

The blue-haired one arrived at the dock first, emerging from the water with a loud gasp of air. A blond head emerged a moment later, panting just as much as the first. Sakura recognized the two but was unable to say anything to them as the lifeguard wasted no time in reprimanding them.

"How many times did i have to tell you brats that you're not allowed past the buoys?!" he yelled at them, making them flinch more so from the volume than anything else. "But you still insist on doing it anyway!" Running out of breath, the lifeguard paused, regaining his composure. "This is your last warning, boys. If I catch you doing that again, I'll have you kicked out of here!"

He turned on his heel, stomping away and grumbling under his breath about little pests and about them drowning and causing him heart attacks.

Sakura watched him go before turning her attention towards the two boys, who both seemed to be holding their breaths. Sensing that the lifeguard was gone, the two erupted in a raucous laughter, half-choking on lake water.

"Calm down, guys," she told them, somewhat amused by their behavior.

Noticing her for what seemed to be the first time, the two guys looked up at her and greeted her with a chorus of "Hey! What's up?"

"You troublemakers, apparently," she answered. "How long have you guys been here anyway? Since I gather that you've been scolded for this for the nth time." As for her, she'd been there since five that morning to get acquainted with the area. She hadn't expected anyone to get there ahead of her.

She watched as they swam towards the nearby ladder. The blond one got out first, his honey blond hair matted against the top of his head and partly concealing his cerulean blue eyes. He had a nice bronze tan and a lean muscular frame from being a varsity football player. He gave her a big toothy grin as he pulled himself up on the dock. His name was Naruto, Sakura's extremely mischievous classmate and one of her closest friends. Highly energetic and fun-loving, he enjoyed pulling off pranks and acting like a total clown.

"Been here since five yesterday," he explained, standing a few inches taller than her and making her feel like a dwarf, as he used to be the shorter one back in their junior high days. "Met Suigetsu down here and spent the rest of the day playing cat and mouse with Ebisu, that grouch of a lifeguard. Caught us 'bout a couple more times too."

"What a jerk he was," supplied the aquamarine-haired boy as he heaved himself unto the wooden floor, his nicely toned body dripping wet. This one was Suigetsu, a batchmate of theirs who belonged in the school swimming team. He had expressive amethyst eyes, and his left canine tooth protruded a bit, giving him a rascally smile. He plopped himself on the floor by Naruto's feet, still panting. He figured it was from all the excessive laughing – being a star swimmer, swimming couldn't possibly have exhausted him.

"Hey there, Suigetsu-san," Sakura greeted him, "I didn't know that you and Naruto were close friends."

"Not from school we weren't," he answered as Naruto offered him a hand and helped him to his feet. "But when I saw how well he swam back there, we totally hit it off."

"Watch out, swimming team, you're new star swimmer is here!" the blond boy exclaimed teasingly.

"Yeah, right!"

The two laughed once again, finding the whole thing hilarious.

Seeing the silly scene, Sakura should've been inclined to look on in exasperation and sigh in embarrassment, but Suigetsu's last statement caught her attention. After all, the aqua-haired boy was the swimming team's _fastest _swimmer. If he was impressed by how well Naruto could swim, how _fast_ could Naruto swim?

"And guess what!" Naruto exclaimed. "We're roomies! Cabinmates!"

"Eh, is that so?" she asked, trying hard to conceal the envy from her face. She envied how they already knew that they were cabinmates. As for her, she had yet to know who hers were and whether they'd be able to get along or not. After all, she'd only been provided the cabin key and number, but the names of her companions in it were yet to be disclosed. She had to wait to find out since no one else had shown up yet. "Well, I hope you guys keep out of trouble. I'd hate it if you guys had to leave all of a sudden."

"Will do," Naruto said almost too willingly, offering her a double thumbs up and big confident grin.

Suigetsu mimicked the gesture before saying, "We trouble-free boys will be running off now."

The two shared another giddy explosion of laughter as they bounded off to do something else less mischievous – something Sakura doubted.

She made her way off the dock and headed for her cabin.

**END OF INTRO**

**Next time: **

"_Why does everyone assume that I know where Sasuke is?" said Sakura._

_Her friends gave her blank looks, as if she'd just said something absurd._

**Side note:** When I meant football, I meant SOCCER. Thank you.


	2. Entry 1: Camp

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 1 - Camp**

**DAY 1**

**Cabin G5 0615**

Sakura was caught by surprise by the spectacular scene occurring at her cabin. A mass of men in black, presumably butlers, was running around hurriedly, lugging heavy suitcases into the wooden living quarters. Amidst the loud chaos, a slender scarlet-haired girl was shouting orders at them and at the black cellular phone she held in her hand.

The pink-haired girl scanned the cabin for its number in a panic, hoping to find the wrong number on it. But alas, it truly had the correctnumber, five. Cabin G5. If she hadn't been frozen in place from the shock, she should've started running away, screaming for a cabin change. Unfortunately, the redhead spotted her.

Snapping her phone shut and shouting at her men to stop, she glared at Sakura and yelled, "Oi, Pinky, what the heck do you want?"

Sakura cringed at hearing the appalling nickname. Before her stood Karin, the resident bitchy self-proclaimed diva who was convinced that she ruled the school. She wore a dark blazer, a too short pleated plaid skirt and tall heeled boots. She too was a freshman in another class, but that didn't stop her from getting the pink-haired schoolgirl on her hate radar.

"I should be asking you that question," replied Sakura, rather intimidated but still trying to put on a tough face. "I thought you abhorred the idea of camping out."

Karin shrugged in a dignified manner. "The pros have it. A certain bishounen's caught my eye and I'm not letting him off that easily, camp or no camp."

Sakura almost bit her own tongue off. She knew whom the witch meant, and she didn't want her to get her filthy manicured fingers on him, as he was one of the pink-haired girl's good friends. She seethed quietly in anger, glaring at the other girl in pure contempt.

"Well, I answered your question. Answer mine. That's only fair. Unless you don't know the meaning of fair exchange-"

"We're cabinmates."

"Say what?"

"I said, we're cabinmates."

A heavy silence graced the camp before a banshee-ish scream filled the air, causing a few flocks of innocent birds scurrying away from the supposed safety of the trees.

"WHAT?! I DEMAND A CABIN CHANGE!"

"So do I!"

"No can do, honeys." The two archenemies turned to see a slender blonde approaching them, a raven-haired boy following after her with some luggage under his arms. "I already asked management. No cabin changes allowed. Guess we're stuck together, girls."

Sakura and Karin had totally opposite reactions to the blonde's last statement. The former shrieked in delight, taking the fair-haired girl in a tight hug while the latter gaped in disbelief at them.

"No way!" Karin wailed. "I can't be stuck with you- you- Aargh!" She stomped her way into the cabin, her butlers awkwardly gawking after her, not knowing what to do with the luggage they still held and not having enough courage to confront their boss.

"Just leave them there," the blond girl informed them. "I don't think they'll all fit in the cabin anyway."

The confused men put down the items and walked off, each one of them secretly hoping they wouldn't get reprimanded for it.

Sakura smiled affectionately at her best friend Ino, who had helped her recruit their friends for the camp in the first place. The pretty blonde, who loved to pull up her golden locks in a tall ponytail, was bubbly and girly, specializing in shopping and looking fabulous. She wore a comfortable ruffled shirt, a jean skirt and fashionable hiking boots; she was definitely dressed for the outdoors… well, at least more so than Karin was. The duo got along well, and they planned to spend the entire summer having fun. Getting the same cabin assignments only made things a whole lot better for them.

The pink-haired girl glanced at the ebony-haired boy behind them and gasped in surprise. "Wait, you're with Sai?!"

"Surprise!" responded Ino.

The raven-haired boy smiled, lighting up the pale features of his face. "Hello, Sakura-chan."

Sai was a close friend of Naruto and was very well part of the gang already. Ino has had a lasting crush on the boy since he'd transferred in their class in the first year of high school, and for some odd chance, they'd gotten together somehow after school let out for summer break without Sakura knowing. How the blonde pulled that off without her best friend knowing was a great mystery. The raven-haired boy was very friendly and cheerful, but seemed to be quite the mysterious type though, his deep onyx eyes seemingly hiding something.

"I shouldn't be so surprised," Sakura said, embarrassed.

Sai picked up Ino's luggage and carried them into the cabin, where they were welcomed with a loud, "Hey! Boys aren't allowed in the cabin!"

Ino lifted an eyebrow at Karin. "Oh, sorry," the blonde said in a mock apologetic manner, "I could've sworn I saw your butlers have been running in and out of the cabin though. Doesn't that count?"

The cardinal-haired girl glared at her in defeat before returning to her phone call as she settled back into her bunk bed. She had taken possession of the lower bunk of the double beds on the right hand side of the cabin. Her luggage was cluttered around the base of her bed, the dark red carpet between the beds barely visible under them.

Ino rolled her eyes at the mess before telling her boyfriend that she was okay and that he could go. Sai left with a few quick goodbyes and hurried on to his own cabin, which was incidentally just across from theirs.

"Cute bunk beds," she remarked as she, receiving help from Sakura, hauled her hand-carry bags unto the bunk just above her best friend's. They had now taken territory of the whole left side of the cabin. Boohoo for Karin.

"Not only is it nice and clean, it's also well-furnished," Sakura said with a wink, taking her friend's hand and pulling her to the head of her own bunk. They set themselves on the bed and the pink-haired girl proceeded to showing the blond the awesome accessories on the headrest. The bunk beds were made of varnished wood, and the headrest was actually a built-in trunk that had multiple compartments.

"And check this out." Sakura crawled to the foot of her bed and pulled out from the wall a red curtain, which when pulled all the way, could completely cover the bunk, providing much needed privacy. "And there're lights in there together with a built-in electric alarm clock and a few power outlets. Plus, the ladder on the foot of the bed is padded."

"I noticed the fridge by the door," Ino pointed out. Indeed, a mini fridge sat in one corner of the cabin, just near the doorway and under a window. An emergency lamp stood on top of it and across the room on the other corner was a narrow cabinet containing emergency flares, a fire extinguisher and the like. "This place is totally decked out! I can so imagine myself living here for the summer."

They heard a bored snort from their unwanted cabinmate, and they started chuckling behind the curtain.

"Excuse me," a soft voice was heard from the door, accompanied by a gentle knock.

Sakura and Ino jumped to their feet and welcomed in their last cabinmate, a pale-skinned girl with long straight black tresses. She wore a pale purple sundress, sandals and a wide straw hat. "Welcome, Hinata," the two chorused.

They helped her with her baggage and led her to Sakura's bunk, where they proceeded to talk about the camp.

Hinata was the shy and quiet type who kept to herself even back in class, but she was better company than Karin. She talked in a small sweet voice and was very polite. She instantly blushed every time the conversation turned towards her, as she was very timid about talking about herself. She had porcelain skin and these light lavender eyes that seemed to be almost white in color. She looked very fragile. It was a surprise she even volunteered to join the program.

"I'm really worried though," she suddenly spoke up, "that I won't fit in here."

Sakura and Ino looked at her in surprise. "What are you talking about? You'll do just fine," the pink-haired girl assured her.

"Besides, it'll be fun, ne?" Ino remarked. "There are cute guys like say… Naruto."

Hinata blushed so hard she looked as if every drop of blood had rushed up to her face. It wasn't quite a well-kept secret that she had a crush on the blond boy. Also that the mere mention or sight of him would cause her to stutter and blush to no ends.

Sakura elbowed Ino for that and tried to change the subject for Hinata's sake. "We'll have your back, don't worry," she said. "Right, Ino?"

"Yeah, we'll make sure you fit in and enjoy yourself. I'll even help you with Naru- Ow! Sakura! Stop that."

Sakura let go of the big fluffy camp-provided pillow and gave her best friend a look. "Anyway, I'd like to show you girls around camp. I've been here since five am. I know my way around."

"You're just using us as an excuse," Ino said in exasperation. "We all know you just want to look for Sasuke- Ow!" The pillow had once again found its mark on the back of her head.

A loud snort was once again heard from Karin as she jumped to her feet and marched out of the cabin in a fury.

"What did you do that for?" Ino demanded from Sakura, rubbing the back of her head as if it hurt.

"For implying that I have some hidden desire for Sasuke, which I don't!"

"Come on, I was telling the truth."

"I _did_. _Did_. Way, way back then. When he was cute and not so angsty. He's one of my friends now. I don't like him that way anymore."

"What's it to you if I ticked Karin off like that anyway? You don't like her either."

"It was just… not nice, that's all."

"You can't be nice all the time, right, Hinata?"

"Huh?" the pale-skinned girl muttered. "Uh… I don't know…"

Ino groaned in defeat. These girls obviously had not heard of the concept of "good girls finish last".

"Well, let's go then." Sakura got up, and the two girls followed her out the cabin.

"Hey, Hinata!" they heard someone shout from a nearby cabin. "Doing well there?"

The three turned to see a brunette with her hair pulled up in twin buns on her head running towards them. She was Tenten, a friend of Hinata's who was an upperclassman in the same class with the pale-eyed girl's cousin Neji. She was perky and very sporty, as proven by her fit figure and nice abs, which were flaunted by her hanging sky blue baby tee, short khaki shorts and a pair of sneakers. She was a practical and independent thinker who also doubled as the school's star gymnast.

She ran over to them and gave the indigo-haired girl a hug. "I see that you've made friends already," she said cheerfully, eyeing Ino and Sakura. "Alas, I am not quite as lucky," she added in mock distress.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked. "We're the ones stuck with Karin."

"Oh." Tenten looked at them pitifully. "I thought I had it bad. I have Karin's cronies, Tayuya and Kin, and the student council president Temari as my cabinmates."

"What?! Both of them?!" Ino exclaimed. "Yikes. That is bad." Karin and her group were well disliked even in the upper echelons of their high school society. No question about it.

"How about Temari?" asked the chocolate-haired girl. "She's so intimidating."

"You? Intimidated by her?" the pink-haired freshman asked.

"She's so… tough…"

"She's okay, trust me," Sakura assured her. "Her younger brother is a good friend of Naruto's. She's quite friendly with us."

"Oh there she is," Ino chirped. "Oi! Temari-san!"

Tenten turned to see a tall sandy-haired girl approaching them. Her long blond locks were pulled up in four messy ponytails and the emerald of her eyes glinted in the sun's morning glow. The bikini and long sarong she wore flattered her curvy figure and tall physique. She waved at them cheerfully and said in the most unexpectedly nice voice Tenten had ever imagined she'd use, "Hey, girls, it's great to finally see you!"

"Same here," Sakura replied.

"Didn't want to miss out on hanging out with your lower year friends before moving on to college?" her blond best friend chirped after her.

"Yeah, why not? After all, my new school's only a plane ride away. And I desperately need to spend some time with my goofball brothers before I leave the country. What other chance would I get?" Temari was a graduating senior. She planned to spend one last break as a non-college girl with her brothers and friends before studying abroad.

"Met your cabinmates yet?" Ino asked.

"Yeah, in fact, I have – hey, Tenten, right? I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Temari, by the way. You're in the gymnastics team, right?"

"Oh, yes. Nice to meet you too," replied the chocolate-haired girl, taking the older girl's hand in hers in a firm handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet the student council's president…"

"And how about your _other _cabinmates?" Ino added.

Temari rolled her eyes in annoyance. "No need. I know who they are. The Diva's henchwomen. I don't like them very much."

The said trio came into sight, Karin leading the way as a raven-haired girl and a pink-haired girl followed after her. The taller ebony-haired girl, Kin, had long straight hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. She had a bored look on her face, and she wore a black tank top and loose gray cargo pants over combat boots. She was known for being outright mean and tactless. The other girl, Tayuya, had a long shaggy peach-pink mane that fell loosely over her shoulders in a messy pile. She was the tough chick who was feared for her habit of picking fights even with bigger _guys_. She was sour and had a dirty mouth, which Karin appreciated for some unexplainable reason. She wore a loose shirt, jersey shorts and a pair of sneakers.

Karin gave Sakura and her group a quick smug look before leading her team away.

Sakura heaved a heavy sigh. "'Kay, I think I' should show you girls around," she told her friends, forgetting about her 'rival'.

**Grand Assembly 0800 **

The girls made their way to The Field where the General Assembly was to take place in. The place was packed with the other students that made up the total of forty-eight campers. They were met by some of Sakura, Ino and Hinata's male classmates, who mostly seemed to be enjoying themselves. Amongst them were Naruto and Suigetsu, both excitedly buzzing about how fun the whole camp could be if they were given loose reign.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, seen Sasuke around?" the blond boy suddenly asked. "Fashionably late again, isn't he?"

"Uh… I haven't seen him," the carnation-haired girl replied. When they stared at her, she added "Why does everyone assume that I know where he is?"

Her friends gave her blank looks, as if she'd just said something absurd.

"What?!"

"Oh there he is!" Naruto said excitedly. "Sasuke-teme! Get your butt over here!"

Sakura turned to see a tall raven-haired teen with spiky hair and a stoic look on his face approaching them. He had pale skin and sharp onyx eyes and wore what seemed to be a totally black outfit. He was Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura's good friend. He was the anti-social type who wasn't too fond of making friends beyond his social circle, which wasn't very big since he practically only had two people in that said circle. He was in the football team with Naruto as the striker. "Shut up, dork," he replied coldly, "I don't need you to tell me what to do."

"We'll be having loads of fun this summer," Naruto exclaimed, "whether you like it or not!"

"I figured that."

Sasuke turned to face Sakura, who slightly blushed at having him look at her. "Hey, Sasuke… Um… Just on time, aren't you?"

He nodded slightly before returning his attention to his hyper blond friend.

The pink-haired gal watched as her two best friends started a heated debate on whether or not scavenger hunting was considered a sport. She suddenly received a small nudge and cocked eyebrow from Ino, which she replied with an "I wasn't doing anything."

"Uh-huh…" the pretty blonde replied skeptically. "What you say and what you do are two totally different things."

Before Sakura could come up with a smart retort, a loud "Good morning, everyone!" was heard from the loudspeakers. Everyone turned to see a pretty raven-haired woman standing on the platform, starting the grand assembly. It was Kurenai, the freshmen's chemistry teacher. She was a tall and undeniably curvy woman who had most of her male students as her rabid fan boys. She was the nice and friendly sort, definitely adding to her popularity. "Welcome to Camp Konoha! It's the first day of the program, and I hope everyone has gotten familiar with our lovely campsite. We're hoping for this program to continue for years to come, so I hope that everyone will have fun!" A round of applause was heard from the audience.

Sakura was cheering like the rest of her friends when she saw a familiar Karin, henchwomen in tow, amongst the crowd. The cardinal-haired diva was _glaring daggers _at her. The carnation-haired gal found it too much and edged her way closer to her friends, hoping to hide herself behind them. Big mistake. The next glimpse she had of her scarlet-haired archenemy was that of her fuming even more so.

Suddenly, an arm found itself on the pink-haired girl's shoulder, and she was surprised to see Sasuke's pale face looking down on her. "You okay?" he asked, the same frozen look on it.

"Yeah, just fine," she replied, slipping away from his grasp. Now she knew why Karin was so mad at her just now. Though Sasuke was fond of doing such annoyingly weird things she didn't approve of, it certainly provided the scarlet-haired girl another item to add on the _Reasons to Hate Sakura_ list. She hated having this rivalry, but she couldn't do anything about it.

"I have to relinquish the mike to your Kakashi-sensei for introductions to your camp advisers," announced Kurenai. She looked around for the said man, but was kept hanging, as he was nowhere in sight. "Where is he?" she asked someone by the stage side.

Suddenly, a man with wild spiky silver hair surprised everyone by coming up the stage from particularly nowhere and grabbing the microphone from Kurenai. "Sorry, I'm late," he said into the mike, scratching the back of his head. "You see, there was this falcon, and it-"

"It's okay, Kakashi," Kurenai said. "No need." She rushed off the stage before he could to use one of his pre-rehearsed, exaggerated excuses.

"Yo, kids" Kakashi greeted the students, the freshmen's algebra teacher. The so-called kids cheered loudly at seeing him. Laid-back and a bit too hip to even be considered a teacher, this humorous (sometimes considered indecently so) man was one of the students' favorite professors. "I'll be announcing the advisers then. First, of course, there's yours truly. I'm in charge of the hiking and wall climbing and a few of the fishing classes. See that wall-climbing contraption there? Yeah, I'm in charge of that." Cheers of excitement was heard at the mention of a wall.

"Get on with it, Kakashi!" someone, presumably one of the other teachers (I won't say who), shouted from somewhere beside the stage.

"Fine!" the silver-haired teacher shouted back. "And then there's the sports coordinator, Anko, that noisy woman over there!"

An irritated plum-haired woman jumped unto the stage and whacked Kakashi on the back of the head before taking her position behind him. "Don't listen to this moron!" she shouted at the audience, her chocolate eyes gleaming darkly. A few exasperated sighs and groans were heard from the students. This woman was the sophomores' history teacher who was known for being a bit loony at times.

"Okay, next…" muttered Kakashi into the mike, rubbing the sore spot behind his neck. "Of course, there's the lovely Kurenai, who's in charge of the art and cooking activities."

Kurenai took her spot beside Anko.

"And Asuma, the physics teach, who is, incidentally, in charge of archery."

A tough-looking man with spiky black hair and matching beard marched up beside Kurenai and shouted threateningly at the students, "You guys better still remember our lessons on trajectory!" A few gulps and shivers were suppressed.

"He'll also be handling a few fishing classes. And here we have our lifeguard, Ebisu, whom everyone remembers as the school's swimming team coach."

The self-important dark-haired man sporting the dark round sunglasses made his appearance with the rest of the advisers.

"Shizune will be our nurse in charge. She'll be giving a few first-aid classes as well."

A pretty woman with short black hair came up the stage and waved cheerfully at the students. She was a very nice and approachable nurse, often receiving more than enough supposedly 'injured' or 'sick' students than she could handle back when school was in session.

"And Iruka here is in charge of the kayaking."

A man with brown hair pulled up in a messy ponytail and a scar just on his bridge of his nose joined his colleagues on the stage. Nice and collected (though somewhat strict as the Disciplinarian Officer of the school), he was a good friend of the students.

"And there's Yamato."

A man with spiky dark brown and deep charcoal eyes took his spot next to Iruka. Cool and very mysterious, this professor was the seniors' biology teacher.

"He'll be handling anything that has to do with animals and plants. You'll be making gardens and… um… what do you do with the animals?"

"Raise them," someone suggested from the crowd.

"I was thinking more on the lines of cooking, but that'll do." He glanced at his list and said, "And last but not least, there's Gai!"

"Dynamic Entry!" came the magnificent shout from a bowl-haired man who leaped center stage. "Morning, glorious youths!" Just imagine how loudly the students reacted (in awe, shock, exasperation, horror, etc…) at seeing their uber exuberant PE teacher act that way.

"Did I mention that Gai's my partner as hiking adviser?" Kakashi informed everyone. Someone started laughing hysterically at that, but everyone else groaned or sighed in dismay. Having this two together was bound to cause catastrophe. Gai was known as being a very comic man that the sight of him could induce unstoppable laughter.

"That's everyone," Kakashi announced. "Principal Tsunade will be up next for the camp's rules and regulations." His colleagues had already started filing off the stage when he seemed to have remembered something, running back to the mike stand to quickly say, "Oh, and we have an acquaintance party tonight. That's all."

The students suddenly got rowdy, cheering and excitedly chatting at the news of a party. With their attentions preoccupied, they didn't notice a busty blond woman take center stage. After a few moments of the teenagers ignoring her, she suddenly shouted into the mike, "Hey, you brats! Pipe down and pay attention already!!!"

The audience, teachers included, froze in silence almost immediately. Little dared to evoke the Principal's wrath. The heavy silence was so thick no one dared to breathe.

"That's better," the woman said cheerfully. She took on a serious expression and held out the thick handbook labeled _Camp Konoha Rules and Regulations_. "I'll be reading the camp's rules, numbers one through five hundred. You all better listen up, because disobedience of the rules would result in severe punishments!" No one even dared to blink. Tsunade was the strictest, scariest, toughest, and not to mention the sexiest, principal ever granted the title. Despite the childish pigtails, this intimidating exterior was feared by all.

She opened the handbook to the first page and started reading the rules. Everyone listened obediently.

**Eating area 1200 hrs**

After three and a half agonizing hours of Tsunade's long tirade – er, lecture, the children were finally released for a lunch break.

"Thank god that lecture was over," Ino said gratefully as she stretched her arms over her head. "I thought I was going to cramp up."

She and the other girls made their way to the Cooperative Building, the canteen-slash-minimart. The low lodge-like building was surrounded by heavy wooden tables set out across the clearing. A few trees were scattered about the area, sheltering some of the tables and providing shade for those who wanted to eat on the grass. Dozens of light fixtures hung from the trees and posts to provide light for dinnertime. Inside the wooden structure, there was ample eating areas in case it rained or for those who preferred to eat indoors. The whole place looked nice and cozy, especially since it was new.

Some of the tables were pulled together to form longer eating areas. Food by the platefuls was already set out on each table.

"Look who's already pigging out," Ino remarked as they neared a section filled with familiar faces.

"Not twue," replied Naruto, sitting on the other side of the table with his face stuffed to capacity.

"We usually have better manners," Suigetsu said matter-of-factly, sitting beside Naruto. "But not today." With that, he started munching on a mouthful of cheesy nachos.

"Naturally," said Tenten as she rolled her eyes. "Boys are such pigs." She suddenly wedged herself between two of the boys, her friends and classmates, Lee and Neji, and took a plate of sesame dumplings. "But I bet I can do more damage," she added, attacking the dumplings fiercely.

"I shall take you on that challenge!" replied Lee, the bowl-haired boy sitting beside her, as he grabbed a bowl of curry and dove into that too. Creepily resembling Gai, this uber excited teen was a member of the track and field team of their school. Hilarious and very energetic, he was also a fun friend to be with.

Their friend, Neji, could only sigh in embarrassment at the sight of his classmates gorging themselves in unhealthy helpings of food. Noticing Hinata, he made room on the bench for her and said, "Oi, Hinata, are the rest of you girls planning to stand there all day?" He was a tall ebony-haired boy who had the same pale complexion and pale lavender eyes as his cousin. He had a serious demeanor, which gave him a rather cold reputation.

The pale-eyed girl took her seat beside her cousin as the rest of the girls decided to do the same. Ino found room beside Sai while Temari cut in between her younger brothers, Gaara and Kankurou.

Sakura looked at the table, curious of where she could find a seat. It seemed crowded already. Noticing her, Naruto decided to scoot some space between him and Sasuke. "Oi, Sakura! You wouldn't mind sitting next to me, right?"

"Of course not," replied the pink-haired girl, though she did mind having to sit next to Sasuke. She made her way around the end of the table and took the spot between her best friends. By then, everyone was already starting to enjoy the meal.

The table had everything – well, almost everything. There were pudding, sandwiches, ramen noodles (Naruto's favorite, mm…), barbecued steak, green salad, miso soup, pork buns, dried plums, cinnamon rolls, apple pie, hamburgers, roasted chestnuts, fresh strawberries, rice cakes, sushi, croutons, and countless other food items. Naturally, Sakura looked for anko dumplings, which were her favorite. But to her dismay, they were nowhere in sight.

"Looking for something?" came an unexpected query from her seatmate.

"Uh… no, Sasuke-kun, I-" denied Sakura. "Oh, dried plums. Love those," she interrupted herself, placing some into her plate.

"Here," remarked Sasuke as he handed her a saucer with some anko dumplings. "I took too many. You can have the rest of them."

"Thanks," she replied as she took them, her face matching her carnation pink hair. It then suddenly seemed as if the whole table fell silent. At least she thought she was just thinking it. She glanced around and realized that every one of their friends had suddenly just shut up and stopped what they were doing, staring at the two of them. Next to her, Naruto had a few strands of ramen dangling out of his mouth as he looked blankly at them. "What?!" she exclaimed, placing the dumplings on the table just in front of her.

Naruto was the first to move. He loudly slurped up the rest of the noodles and chugged down the entire bowl of the remaining soup. "Ah! This ramen is good!" he said nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just rudely stared at them. Everyone followed suit, suddenly making more noise as they gobbled up their lunch. Even the more quiet ones like Gaara and Shino suddenly made more frequent slurps and ahem's.

The pink blush remained on Sakura's cheeks as she picked at the dumplings before her. Why does everyone seem to make such a big deal between her and Sasuke? It's not like they were an item or something. They had wild imaginations, that was for sure. She finally picked up one of the dumplings and devoured it with a vengeance. Everyone was pigging out anyway. Why bother with manners?

**Lake 1730 hrs**

The sapphire lake didn't disappoint. It provided much-needed relaxation for the troubled pink-haired girl. She had been sitting on the dock like she had been that morning, simply just taking in the sights to clear her mind. She looked at the setting sun and decided that it was getting late. She got up and headed for her cabin. The party was going to start soon.

At the cabin, she was surprised to see her cabinmates dressed up. Like, _dressed up_. She found Ino in a blue glittering tube top, form-fitting jeans and strapped heels, Hinata in a lavender sundress and doll shoes and Karin… let's just say she was already out of there before Sakura could get through the door.

"What's up, girls?" the carnation-haired girl asked her friends. "What's with the… outfits?"

"It's a party, Sakura," Ino told her. "Of course we need to dress up. There's nothing wrong with that, right, Hinata?"

"I guess…" replied the raven-haired girl. "Aren't you dressing up, Sakura?"

"I'm not sure, I-"

"Sakura!" Ino remarked. "You better, 'cause I've already selected outfits for you!"

"You what?!" She glanced at her bed and saw a few of her clothes on it, tops and bottoms already paired up.

"Wear the red off-the-shoulder top with the black skirt and the red heels. It'll look good on you tonight."

"I don't even have _red heels_. I-"

"Oh, those heels are mine. They'll match your top."

"Ino! Let me talk! I don't need to dress up, okay?!" Sakura exclaimed. "And I don't even know why you packed heels to camp."

The blonde heaved a heavy sigh, looking at her best friend pitifully. "Sakura, _Sakura_, don't you get it?" she asked her friend. "It's your chance to look good in front of Sasuke. Okay, I know, you're not into glamming up, but-"

"Ino!" The pink-haired girl was once again blushing profusely for the nth time.

"Oh, no need to thank me, sweetie-"

"No! I mean, cut it out! Stop saying that I like Sasuke, because I don't. I don't need to dress up for him!"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay already, I give up." She picked up her favorite outfit and thrust them into her friend's arms. "Just wear this, okay? You don't have to wear it for him. Just wear it."

"It'll look very pretty on you," Hinata said encouragingly.

Sakura finally gave in. "Sure, fine," she said in exasperation. "Just don't go through my stuff like this again, Ino. Even if… you're fabulous when it comes to picking an outfit…" She managed a smile and gave her best friend a hug.

"Save your thanks for later," the blonde replied. She grabbed Hinata by the wrist and started dragging her out the door. "Hinata-chan and I will be meeting with Temari-san and Tenten-san, okay? We'll meet you at the Field. Be sure to make a good entrance!" With that, she and the pale-eyed girl disappeared through the door.

Sakura looked at the top, skirt and shoes in her arms. Even though it was very pretty, it was a rather flashy outfit for her tastes. The heels made it seem… too mature.

"Oh well," she muttered. "I'll have to go for broke." She locked the door and started changing.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **If you fancy my work, try checking out my other fics, my Shikatema oneshot _Temari's Valentine_, my inosai drabbles, _A Mask of Emotion_, or _On the Way_, a little oneshot about Team Hebi (now Falcon) between chapter 353 and 354. And check out the awesome _A Ninja's Guide to Surviving High School _by _Ja-Japster_-san. I guarantee you that it's better than anything I can come up with. Please review. Just click that purple button and leave a quick "hi" or "nice" or whatever itsy-bitsy comment you can leave behind. Please. Thankies.

**EDIT:** (March 15, 2009) My collection of drabbles, _My Best Friend, the Writer's Block_ is up (it has SuiKa, a horror NaruHina and a couple of silly spoofs in there), as well as _Small Fish, Big Pond_, a lower-priority series I'm making about a geeky high school life where everything isn't as you would expect. These are my new works and are of better quality than the old ones. Thankies.

**Sidenote:** (1) SasuSaku all the way!

(2) Suigetsu's just so cute! He has to be a main character!

(3) Sakura versus Karin? Isn't it just perfect?!

(4) Inosai is so cute!

(5) Why algebra and Kakashi? He's supposed to be a genius, right? I wish he isn't anything like my crazy goof-off geometry teacher back in sophomore year lol.

(6) Anko is a crazy bitch. I meant that in a good way, Anko. I really love you, you know. So please put down that steel chair.

(7) _Trajectory_ is the path an object falling against gravity would take.

(8) Iruka and kayaking? Um… random, I admit that. But doesn't Iruka mean dolphin, and dolphins live in the water, and kayaks are used on the… never mind…

(9) Iruka? D.O.?! Not a bad idea, I might say. He has the whole uptight thing going on.

(10) Yamato's cool!

**Next time:**

"_Sakura-chan, Sasuke's gonna be late, so you might have to wait for him," remarked Naruto._


	3. Entry 2: Party

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 2 - Party**

**NIGHT 1**

**The Party 1800**

TheField was completely transformed from what it was that morning. Buffet tables were set along the edges of the area, big loud speakers positioned at the corners, booming noisily with some random song. Students were gathered in the field, dancing to the music while some were gathered around the food, as if the heavy lunch had not been sufficient enough.

As Sakura arrived, she knew right away that she had been right about the outfit. It was flashy. Very _flashy_. As soon as she walked into The Field, she caught almost everyone's attention. There were a lot of hi's and even a couple of catcalls. She felt a bit embarrassed from all the attention, as she wasn't quite used to it.

She was making her way through the dancing crowd when a familiar voice called out to her. "Oi! Sakura-chan! Over here!"

She saw Naruto waving frantically at her from the other side of the dance floor (next to the buffet table no less) with the rest of their friends. She moved through the crowd to meet them and was welcomed with quite a few compliments.

"Look who dressed up!" Tenten commented.

"Looking good," remarked Temari. "Who knew Sakura-chan had it in her."

"I did," Ino remarked. "Sakura always had it in her. She just doesn't show it much."

"Stop that," the pink-haired girl cut in, embarrassed.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan! You look really cute!" squealed Naruto in a sort of fan boyish manner.

"You too," Sakura replied, teasingly pinching his face.

"Come on, what's up with you girls anyway?" asked one of the boys, Kiba, as he leaned on the buffet table (plate in hand, I might add). "It's just a party. In camp. _Camp_. What's with all the dressing up?" Dressed in a hoodie and what seemed to be the same camouflage-print cargo pants and sneakers he had been wearing that morning, Kiba was the typical guy. Guy guy. Like, video game-playing, burger-munching, untidy room, coach potato, messy brown-haired, skate-boarding sports buff. Like Naruto, only louder and more annoying.

"Proves what you know about girls," Ino scoffed at him.

Kiba waved her off with a hand holding a taco.

"Why even bother with girls?" commented Shikamaru, the resident lazy genius. Really smart and laid-back, this ponytail-wearing, constantly sleeping guy obviously had something against girls. Despite that, he was rather a reliable person… when he's in the mood. "They're so annoying."

"Shut up," Ino ordered him. She had little patience with male chauvinism.

"Aren't we entitled our opinion, too?" Sai cut in.

"Not you too," his girlfriend practically hissed.

"What's the big deal with you girls anyway?" commented Kankurou. He was Temari's brother and another typically cocky guy. "Always so defensive."

"We are not," snapped his sister.

"See?"

"Just because we're girls doesn't mean we're any different than you guys," Tenten remarked. "Stop stereotyping us."

"So says the girl who also dressed up," Shikamaru pointed out.

Tenten had dressed up in a pink blouse, ruffled jean skirt and doll shoes, which was already dressed up, even for her. Meanwhile, Temari was wearing a short maroon dress and pointed heels.

"You guys are such narrow-minded idiots!" Tenten railed.

"Now look who's doing the stereotyping," Neji pointed out. Dressed in a black shirt and white pants over black boots, he was not one bit as unruly as the rest of the guys. With his temperament, being stereotyped as _one of the guys_, such as those stereotyped as _narrow-minded idiots_, would easily anger him.

"Shut up, Neji, this has nothing to do with you!" the chocolate-haired girl snapped back.

"It has everything to do with me," he threw back.

"Stop acting like it's all about you girls," Kiba added, taking the situation seriously, as the plate had disappeared.

Almost everyone started talking at once, the conversation seemingly going around in circles as someone else repeated what someone else in their group had just said, only to extend it further. Tired of the bickering flying to and fro between the two factions, Sakura decided to settle the matter diplomatically.

"Everyone, shut up!" she demanded, making them all turn to listen. "This is a party, not a debate forum. We're supposed to be having fun, not fighting over some nonsense."

"I'm sure not having fun," Naruto supported.

The others looked on in embarrassment at the realization of how stupid they'd all been acting.

"I guess you're right," Tenten remarked.

"It _is_ a waste of time," Kiba finally agreed.

The others murmured similar thoughts.

"Let's just say boys are boys and girls are girls," Sakura suggested. "And leave it at that."

"Smartest thing I heard all day," Ino finally said.

"So let's get to the partying part!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

The others finally gave in, some more hesitantly than others, and everything returned to normal. The group started dispersing as some gathered around the buffet table while others filtered into the dancing crowd. All seemed to be forgotten now.

As a few of them remained, Naruto suddenly remarked, "Ano, Sakura-chan, Sasuke's gonna be late, so you might have to wait for him."

"Who says I will?" she snapped back, rather crossed with the consistent teasing.

"Lighten up, Sakura," Ino remarked. "I thought you were the one who said that we should be having fun tonight." She took her boyfriend by the hand and started pulling him to the dance floor.

Despite the amount of people, Sakura felt strangely alone. Being one of the wallflowers was one thing, being the _only_ one was a whole different matter, especially with her girlfriends gone.

She glanced at the food. Tempting… but not quite… Dancing alone? Not an option. All of a sudden, the party didn't seem quite as fun she had expected it to be. Quietly, so no one would notice, she slipped out of the Field and headed for her cabin.

The walk to the cabin would've been as unexciting as ever if Sakura hadn't chanced upon the particularly strange scene – Sasuke and Karin walking to the party – _together_.

And not to mention the fact that Karin was extremely flirty and… surprisingly clingy – which was an understatement since she was latched unto his arm so hard you could practically see the discomfort on Sasuke's usually stoic face.

Sakura would've been perturbed at such a sight if Sasuke didn't seem more or less relieved to see her. "Hey, Sakura," he said as if he had suddenly forgotten the heavy attachment on his arm.

Of course, Karin started fuming at seeing the carnation-haired girl. She let go of Sasuke's arm, slipped her glasses back on and confronted her. "What do you want, Pinky?!"

Sakura was about to reply when to her surprise (as well as Karin's), Sasuke suddenly approached her and took her by the hand and said, "What took you so long?" He turned to face Karin and said, "Sakura was supposed to be my date. Later." Without waiting for the cardinal-haired girl's reaction, he marched off, the pink-haired girl in tow.

"What did you say that for?!" Sakura muttered, blushing furiously (the blushing wasn't as much in embarrassment as it was in anger), as he continued leading her along. "I'm not really your _date_."

"Anything to get rid of Karin," he replied, his eyes focused on their destination, the Field, which they happened to approaching. "Why? Do you mind?"

Sakura jerked her hand away from his grasp, glaring at him. "Yes, I do _mind_. Next time, at least warn me when you're going to _use _me," she barked. She growled in annoyance before stomping off, after having resisted the huge urge to suddenly whack him on the back of his head.

Sasuke didn't even budge. He watched her stomp off in that red top and black skirt, wondering why he had never seen her wear that outfit before.

By the time Sakura had gotten back to the field, the party had already taken a different mood. The music had stopped, and Kakashi-sensei was getting onstage, about to make a few announcements. She joined her friends, who all seemed to have gathered for the broadcast.

"Listen up, kids," said Kakashi, "it's time to have some real fun!"

"Well, what do you think we were doing just now?!" someone shouted back.

"Not this sort of fun!" the silver-haired man answered. "We'll be playing Gimme What I Want!"

"What are we?! Twelve?!" another student shouted. Similar remarks were heard from the crowd.

"No, duh," the teacher retorted. "We have way better prizes! Like this one! First person to give me their left shoe will get these pictures of Kurenai-sensei wearing a bikini at the beach!"

"Hey!" complained the said raven-haired teacher.

But her protest was ignored as most of the male student population rushed to the stage, tugging their shoes off.

A flying shoe even landed on Kakashi's face, and since no one could tell who got to the stage first, its owner automatically received the prize.

Seeing the disturbingly idiotic scene, Sakura and her friends reacted in a variety of reactions. Sai and Ino looked on dumbly while the pink-haired girl groaned in embarrassment.

"Aaw, I wanted the prize," Naruto whined as he retied his shoelaces.

"That was funny," Suigetsu commented with a chuckle.

"Seriously…" Tenten remarked, dumbfounded by such a display of utter stupidity.

"Boys…" muttered Ino.

"Why are they always so stupid?" Temari added.

"There you go again," said Shikamaru.

"What?" the sandy-haired girl asked.

"And you girls said we were the ones stereotyping," Kiba told them with a smug look on his face.

"All I said was-"

"Boys _are_ stupid!" Tenten cut in. "It's absolutely true! Did you see that just now? That was stupid!"

"Oh yeah-" Kiba remarked angrily, stepping up to them.

"Well, what do you think you're going to do?!" Ino challenged, planting herself in front of him. "Are you going to punch a _girl_?" Kiba hesitated, dropping his fists to his sides.

"Hmph, you were the ones who insisted on this equality crap," Neji remarked, apparently heated up too. He glared at her menacingly, as if threatening that he might just do just that.

Obviously intimidated by his furious gaze, Ino stepped back.

"Come on, everyone, let us not worsen the situation any further!" Lee suddenly cut in his glory-speechy way, afraid that fists and nails might start flying any second soon.

Tenten ignored him and stepped forward, replacing Ino. "Cut it out, Neji!" the chocolate-haired girl exclaimed, pushing him back with both hands. "Stop being a jerk!"

"Well, you asked for it!"

"Everyone!" Lee pleaded.

"We so did not!" Ino retorted, hiding behind Tenten.

"Seemed like you did," Sai cut in.

"Everyone!" Lee pleaded.

"Not you too!" the blonde exclaimed, leaving the shelter Tenten's back offered.

"What?! Do you expect me to side with you for everything?" her boyfriend replied coldly.

"I'm your girlfriend!"

"Everyone!" Lee pleaded.

"Well, I'm your boyfriend," Sai practically hissed. "Does that mean anything to you?"

"Yeah! It means you need to side with me!"

"Where's the equality in that then?!" he shouted, surprising her with his intensity. He had never ever raised his voice that loudly before, and it was all it took to silence her.

"Everyone!" Lee pleaded.

"LEE, SHUT UP!" almost everyone in the fight shouted, making him cower away to some isolated corner of the buffet table to sulk.

"Cut it out, everyone!" Naruto shouted, panic obvious in his voice. He didn't want to see his friends fighting like that. And he felt sorry for Lee. Not that much, but he felt sorry nonetheless. "Haven't you gotten enough?"

"Step aside, Naruto!" Kankurou snapped at him, pushing him aside. "Girls aren't only defensive, they're also selfish!" he exclaimed, directing it at his sister.

"Who are you calling selfish?!" Temari shouted back. "You're not the one doing all the chores at home!"

"Well, that's because you're selfish even when it comes to chores!"

"That's such a stupid answer, Kankurou, and you know it!"

"You're the one to say who's stupid," Shikamaru remarked.

"Butt out!"

"Make me, Miss Student Council President," he challenged, retaining a cool air.

"At least I have a title, you lazy little brat!" Annoying her to death was one thing. Doing it _calmly _just made her angrier.

"Oh, what a temper," he taunted her.

As the fight continued to climax, most of uninvolved ones managed to slip away, afraid to get dragged into the mess. Frustrated of the enduring squabble, Sakura attempted to stop it again. "EVERYONE, CALM DOWN!" she shouted.

That managed to attract their attention, momentarily stopping them. They all turned to her, but her relief was short-lived when Tenten suddenly remarked, "Which side are you on anyway?!"

"She's a girl," Neji said pointedly. "Which side do you think she'll join?!"

"I'm not siding with anyone!" the carnation-haired girl replied, almost running out of breath.

"Neither will I!" Naruto barked, obviously tired of this childish fight.

"I-I won't e-either," Hinata said, stammering in her nervousness. "E-everyone, p-please stop," she added in a scared whisper.

The rest turned to face Suigetsu, who had not said a single thing throughout the fight. He shrugged and said, "Go ahead and bash each other. I don't care."

They once again erupted in a loud verbal skirmish.

"Suigetsu!" Naruto complained.

"As much as I want this to end… uh… no, actually, no offense, but I enjoy watching this." An amused smirk was apparent on his face, and even his blond friend had to give up on asking for his help.

"Hey! What is wrong back here?!" Everyone was surprised to see a reproachful-looking Kurenai approaching them, demanding an answer. They were at one of the farther sides of the field from the stage, and the idea of anyone else getting wind of their little fight barely crossed their minds.

"We're fine, Sensei," a surprisingly cool Temari replied, her face frozen into a stern expression (aka her student council president face).

"Nothing's wrong here," Shikamaru supported.

"Just a little discussion," Neji said. He must've been a great actor the way he sounded when he said that, because there didn't seem to be a trace of contempt in his voice or face.

"I very minor one," added Tenten, in what was a desperate attempt to look cheerful.

"Sensei-" Sakura started, wanting to end this all no matter what.

"No, really, Sensei, it's okay," Ino whispered almost timidly, still not fully recovered from her boyfriend's scary outburst.

"Just fine," Sai said coldly.

"I hope so," Kurenai said, doubtful. "Well, I'll be leaving you guys to it then…" She turned and left, glancing at them once before disappearing into the parlor-game-playing crowd.

"What is wrong with you, Sakura?!" Temari exclaimed when the raven-haired teacher was out of sight. "There is absolutely no need to involve Kurenai-sensei!"

"Why? You didn't want her to join your side?!" Sakura snapped back sarcastically, obviously not thinking when she said that.

"Oh damn, why didn't I think of that?"

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Sakura exclaimed.

"We should've asked her!" Tenten said, ignoring her.

"No fair!" Kiba said. "If you get to ask her, we get to ask the male profs!"

"Not fair enough!" Tenten barked. "There are more male teachers than there are women!"

"So? You go ahead and challenge us even when there's just three of you," Kiba pointed out. "Take what you got and use it. Stop complaining, you whiners."

"Whiners?! _Guys_ whine!"

"Whine?! What do you call what you're doing right now?!"

The ruckus continued, and Sakura and the others couldn't do anything else about it no matter what they tried. Suddenly, it was interrupted as something cut through the two opposing teams like knife cutting through jelly. "What's going on here?" asked a stoic Sasuke, pushing both Tenten and Neji away from each other. "You guys can't keep peace without me, can you?"

"Shut up, Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto shouted angrily. "Why didn't you show up earlier then?!"

The raven-haired boy glanced at Sakura once before answering, "My date showed me up."

"What date?!"

Sakura clamped her lips over her tightly clenched teeth, hoping that no one would notice how ticked off she was of Sasuke. So what if he stopped the fight?! They'd start fighting again the next minute anyway! She was still mad at him.

"Move aside, Sasuke," Neji hissed, already pushing against the hand the ebony-haired boy was using to hold him back.

"Yeah, you heard him, pretty boy," Tenten said, still glaring her eyes out.

Sasuke pushed the two apart harder and directed his next statement at Sakura, "Not until someone tells me what the hell is going."

The pink-haired girl merely crossed her arms and turned away from him. She _definitely _won'tanswer him. Not after what happened tonight.

"Well," Naruto answered for her, helping him push apart the two teams, "the thing is-"

"Everyone!" came another unbelievably loud announcement from the speakers. It was Kakashi again, and he was about to announce what the new game was. He most _obviously_ ran out of prices, having used up his stash of questionable items. "Time for the debate!"

Finding what seemed to be the perfect solution for the ongoing ruckus, Sakura grabbed the opportunity to settle everything once and for all. "Hey, Sensei! Make it a boys versus girls debate!" she shouted.

"That's a great idea!" the silver-haired teacher replied over the mike.

"What?!" was her group's simultaneous reaction.

"Girls versus boys?" Sasuke murmured incredulously, just realizing what the whole mess was about.

She turned towards them and said, "How about that? Now you can settle this, and everyone'll know about it!"

Looks of realization dawned on their faces, and they started getting excited (in a positive way, thank god).

"Ha! We are so gonna win!" Kiba said.

"No way!"

"No, we are!"

"Shut up, we are!"

"And who'd like to head the two teams?" Kakashi inquired.

A lot of hands were raised from the audience even outside of Sakura's group. "Here!" chorused the supposedly fighting factions.

"This is useless," Sasuke remarked.

"Yeah, you said it," Naruto replied.

"We'd win hands down."

"Yea-huh?" Naruto did a double take at his best friend, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"Eh, knowing you, Sasuke, I'm not too surprised you said that," Sakura said smugly.

"Don't _you_ have an opinion on the matter?" he challenged.

"Yeah, and I chose not to take either side," she replied.

He raised an eyebrow at her, once again challenging her. "Did you _choose_ to?" he asked her. "Or did you just _think_ it was the smarter thing to do?"

She was getting so mad at him, she was short of growling at him.

"Oi! Kakashi-sensei! Right here!" Sasuke suddenly shouted towards the stage. "Sakura and I will lead the debate!"

"Wait a minute, I-"

Before she could finish though, their silver-haired teacher said, "That's a great idea there, Sasuke-kun! You and Sakura were the leaders of our class's debate team in the competition last time, right? That'll be a great show! Come on up!"

"Aw, no fair!" Kiba whined after not getting the position as the lead himself.

"They're not even in on the fight!" grumbled Tenten.

"Sasuke, eto… why… I mean…" Naruto could barely put into words what he wanted to say in his confusion. Never had Sasuke gone and challenged Sakura so openly before. After all, _he_ was the _only_ one the raven-haired boy considered competition. Everyone else was just… there…

"Wait, I am _not_ going up there!" Sakura shouted at Kakashi. She glared at Sasuke, saying, "Why do you always do this?!"

"Do what?" he said innocently.

"This! Torment me!"

He smirked before turning towards the stage. "What are you waiting for?"

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **If you fancy my work, try checking out my other fic, _Gang Wars _(Edit: it's been abandoned, so don't bother), which is in its tenth (and hopefully eleventh) chappie. Also my shikatema oneshot _Temari's Valentine_. Or my inosai drabbles, _A Mask of Emotion_. Or my newest work, _On the Way_, a little oneshot about Team Hebi between chapter 353 and 354. And check out the awesome _A Ninja's Guide to surviving High School _by _Ja-Japster_-san. I guarantee you that it's better than anything I can come up with. Please review. Just click that purple button and leave a quick "hi" or "nice" or whatever itsy-bitsy comment you can leave behind. Please. Thankies.

**Sidenote: **(1) Naruto is no fan boy! But I'm a fan girl! Weeeeee…

(2) I have experienced a similar fight between boys and girls, but of a lesser degree. Maybe once or twice, when we had that debate in class. No one volunteered to speak anymore. Instead, everyone was shouting at each other, saying girls are this, guys are that, etc. Of course, we never took it too seriously lol. It was all for fun… and we all secretly know that girls rule…

(3) People are entitled their opinions, no matter what subject they're about. Boys are never any superior to girls, and girls are never any superior to boys, okay?

**Next time:**

"_Is that you pretending to be a gentleman?" challenged Sakura. "Or just trying to prove that I'd need a head start on you just because I'm a girl?"_


	4. Entry 3: Debate

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 3**

**NIGHT 1**

**The Party 1830 hrs**

Sakura glared at Sasuke more intensely than the stage lights did on them as she stomped unto the stage. He was not an ally. Never was. He was nothing but a mutual friend of Naruto. He had been a hypocrite ever since she'd met him. Always had been. And still was. He loved antagonizing her and taking her on in pretty much everything. This had to end. And she had to come out on top.

"Look like Class 1-B's debate team has come together for this challenge," remarked Kakashi, as he was most familiar with his own advisory class. "But looks like they'll be on opposing sides this time."

"This'll be fun then!" Anko said, jumping on the stage, microphone in hand.

"Anko?!" exclaimed her silver-haired colleague when he saw her. "What are you doing up here?!"

"This is a girls versus boys thing, right?" She placed the mike to her mouth and asked the audience, "Oi! That wouldn't be fair, right? If the emcee was a guy?"

Kakashi groaned and said, "Fine, Anko, go ahead." Her presence just doubled the tension by a tenfold. It was a well-known fact that Anko was the most hardcore feminist around. He better keep quiet or she'll have his head for sure. Ah, screw life.

"So let's-"

"Start this debate!" Anko cut off Kakashi, who just looked at her in trepidation.

"Who's starting?" Sakura asked, fiddling with her mike in one hand.

Sasuke looked at her with an 'I-could-care-less' look on his face. "Ladies first?" he said with a shrug.

"Is that you pretending to be a gentleman?" challenged his pink-haired opponent. "Or just trying to prove that I'd need a head start on you just because I'm a girl?"

The crowd reacted with a mix of boos and cheers. Sakura hit the mark.

A smirk escaped Sasuke's lips, and he almost looked as if he was going to laugh. "Would you like toss coin then?" he said, almost jokingly.

Kakashi didn't need any prompting to bring out a coin. "Who wants head?" he asked, not asking either by name for the sake of not getting wailed at by his uber aggressive co-worker.

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other, expecting the other to cave in and choose first.

"Come on!" complained Anko, to Kakashi's relief. "Do we have to toss coin to toss coin? Sakura heads, Sasuke tails. Go!"

Kakashi did as he was told and said, "Tails."

"Lemme see that!" Anko suddenly demanded.

"What? You don't trust me?"

When she had indeed verified, she turned towards the two competitors and said, "Well, tails it is," looking as if she wasn't about to bite someone's head off just a few moments ago. "'Kay, Sasuke start!"

"Fine. Since I was _randomly_ chosen after all."

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"This debate is about which gender is better. I don't want to beat around the bush. Men are better than women. We don't even need this sort of debate to prove that.

"Just look at history, current news. Everywhere. Who invented the light bulb? Cars? Television? Who established kingdoms? Republics? Monopolies? Who runs the government? Earns the salaries? Or everything women aren't capable of-"

"Everything women aren't capable of?!" Sakura cut in.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, you can't interrupt yet," Kakashi informed her.

"Shut up! Let her speak!" Anko snapped at him.

"But-"

"Sensei, I think I've finished with what I have to say," said Sasuke, giving his opponent a victorious look. The first step to winning any competition is to aggravate the opponent. "It's Sakura's turn."

"Fine," chorused the two teachers.

The pink-haired girl huffed at her opponent's unrelenting cockiness. "Please excuse my abrupt interruption back there," she said, regaining her calm composure. "You see, I can't help but argue that women can do whatever man can, if not better. There are also women politicians, inventors, chemists, physicists, presidents and ambassadors. We are perfectly capable of being anything.

"Furthermore, the only reason that women do not appear in history as often as men do is because men just love the spotlight, which isn't surprising because they have such huge egos. We can't overlook the fact that the realms of science, math, politics and such have been male-dominated over the century only because of discrimination against women as the _weaker sex_, getting the "lesser" jobs like household chores and raising the kids. But isn't it surprising, that even though men act all in-charge and powerful, there are certain cultures where women do _all_ the work. They even work the field while men sit around doing nothing and waiting to go on hunts."

"And what culture could that be?" he challenged. It was clear that this debate was of the informal kind, so no one bothered objecting to his interruption.

"African tribes are one example," Sakura stated. "Look that up. It's true. It's still practiced as we speak. Anyway, back to my point. It has been established all over the world that men are the bosses, heads of the household, dominator of women, blah blah blah. That women are too dumb to vote or study or take on jobs other than being nurses or teachers. Well, guess what, development is catching up on those ancient biases and discrimination. Women can do anything that men can."

"Well, seems as if our two teams have defended their sides," Kakashi announced. "Lets jud-"

"Wait a minute," Sasuke cut in. "The debate's not over."

His pink-haired opponent looked at him in disbelief. He wasn't going down without a fight. Well, neither was she. "We're not through yet," she added.

"Let them finish!" Anko snapped at him.

Kakashi merely raised his hands in surrender. Let them do as they wish, as long as Anko doesn't rip his head off.

"Sasuke, your turn again," the purple-haired woman said.

"As response to my opponent's defense," started the raven-haired teen, "I'd like to point out that she was just trying to prove that men and women are equals. I thought this was a debate on which was better." He watched her intensify her glare at him. Bullseye number two.

"I've made my point," Sakura replied stubbornly.

"I'll move on to other points. How about the fact that men are more logical that women, who are more… emotional? This makes us smarter."

"That sounds a bit too general," cut in the pink-haired girl. "Most of the top honor students are girls. How can you explain that?"

"We're in high school," replied Sasuke. "One's true capabilities are revealed in college and later, in the adult realm."

"Are you saying it's on the long run?"

"Who are more successful?"

Sakura's only response was to roll her eyes.

"And not only are we smarter, we're also stronger."

"Physically, but not emotionally."

"We don't bawl our eyes out," he pointed out.

"Emotional stability is better achieved when you express your emotions. Men are emotionally weaker because they think crying makes them weak. When they hold it in, they get more unstable. That's why more men commit suicide than women."

"So now we're suicidal? That's absolutely crazy. If what you say is true, then why do women have more emotional breakdowns?"

"They're not called emotional breakdowns."

"Don't blame PMS again like most of you women always do." Laughter rose from the crowd. Anko looked as if she wanted to strangle him dead.

"Another point," Sakura pointed out. "I bet men can't survive a day in our bodies. Dysmenorrhea is more painful than you think."

"Try getting circumcised."

"Hold on, you two," Kakashi cut in before Sakura could retort. "Let's not delve into those issues, 'kay? They're a bit on the sensitive side."

The two rolled their eyes in annoyance. They were getting pumped up too.

"Men are too insensitive," Sakura said.

"That's not entirely true," Sasuke stated. "Women are just too sensitive."

"Men always do the most insensitive and inconsiderate things."

"Well, women make big things of small issues."

"No, we don't!"

"You just proved it." Bullseye number three.

"…" Sakura paused to recollect herself. If this keeps up, he'd make her look like a spoilsport. "At least women are tidier than men."

"Men are perceived as slobs. I thought you were being anti-discriminatory. Why so biased all of a sudden?" Another hit.

"Biased? Who's being biased? You're the one who's so full of yourself, thinking you'd win just because I'm a girl!"

"Sakura-chan, I think you're getting a bit too personal," Kakashi told her.

"I've had enough of this!" she shouted at him, throwing the mike on the ground, sending a loud deafening buzzing sound through the speakers. She stomped off the stage, her face flushed in anger.

"Sakura, you okay?" Ino asked, rushing towards her.

"Yeah, just fine," she snapped back, biting back her tears.

"Hey, are you… crying?"

"Never mind!" she half-sobbed, pushing her friend away and stomping off.

"What the hell…"

"What do you mean you win?! That doesn't count!" The blonde turned to see Tenten shouting at Neji as she marched over to her. "Can you believe him?" the brunette asked Ino. "He thinks they won."

"Of course we win," Neji scoffed. "She walked out."

"It's a forfeit," Shikamaru added as he approached. "It's not really a win."

"What are you talking about? Of course we win!" Neji insisted.

"I'd prefer it if Sasuke beat her before she ran off," said Shikamaru. "Tch. What a sore loser."

"You do realize that you're acting like jerks again, don't you?" Ino snapped at him.

The two looked at her blankly. They didn't give a damn.

"Argh!" yelled the blonde, stomping off and leaving her brunet friend in an uproar against the two guys.

"What happened?" Hinata asked as she ran up beside Ino, who was already heading out of the area by then.

"I don't know, and I don't care," answered the other girl. "The boys have been pain in the necks all night. I don't care about them."

The indigo-haired girl watched her friend head off. She looked really mad. So did Sakura. Did she really run off crying, or was it only her imagination? She made her way back to the stage where most of their 'friends' had gathered. They were fighting again. And this time, Sakura wasn't around to stop them.

"Everyone, please-" Her voice was lost in the noise.

"Hinata-chan." She reeled around to see Naruto already pulling her along. "Let's get out of here."

She was too embarrassed to say anything as he led her away. "What happened back there?" she finally asked as they approached the cabins.

Naruto let go of her and said, "I was afraid this would happen."

"Huh?"

"'Coz… uh… you see… this thing between Sakura and Sasuke… have you noticed it too?"

"What about them?"

"They really like each other. That's what I think."

"Eh?" Hinata looked at him doubtfully. No matter how sincerely he had said that, it just seemed so unbelievable. "It didn't look that way."

The boy sighed. He seemed awfully tired from all of this. "I thought you guys should've noticed by now. I've known Sasuke since I-don't-remember-anymore. That long. Probably since first or second grade. I know him that much. You know what? He never shows how he feels. He does it some other way. We're supposed to be best friends, right? Yet, he never acts like it. We just fight a lot. Sometimes, I act all mushy, but he just whacks me for it. He's that much of an introvert. He really just won't show what he really feels. Do you get where I'm going? 'Coz I think I'm going in circles."

Hinata nodded her head. He was getting confusing, but she gathered as much.

"Anyway," he continued, "I think he likes her, 'coz he's always like taking her on in whatever. Have you noticed how they're fighting over top rank for the batch? Or the top spot for the debate team? They're competitive, but I think they are against each other 'coz they can't let their pride down."

"Like in Pride and Prejudice?"

Naruto blinked at her. "Yeah, whatever that is. Something like that." He always fell asleep whenever they were discussing world literature. "Anyway, Sasuke likes to show his emotions differently. Like last Christmas. I asked for a hug, and he pushed a fruitcake into my mouth."

Hinata couldn't surpass a giggle. Afterwards, the dreary mood returned as she remembered the whole situation. "Well, what do you think will happen now? And what does this have to do with me?" As much as possible, she wanted to be neutral in this whole case.

"They'll probably ruin our summer with this feud."

"What?!"

Naruto shrugged, almost casually. "They're good at what they do, and they can easily spearhead these sort of things. They're both stubborn, so if they choose to hate each other for the rest of the summer, they can do so and involve everyone else as well. You did see how everyone fought back there, right? If Sasuke and Sakura joined in, what do you think'll happen?"

"They'll probably make it worse," she said, almost to herself.

"You know where this leaves you, right?"

"Eh? I don't know… I…"

"You'll need to try and calm Sakura down. She's your cabinmate, right? I doubt she'd want to talk to me. War against Sasuke to her would mean war against the rest of us boys. Can you help with this?"

"Uh… s-sure, I-I guess…" she stuttered involuntarily.

"Good luck."

**Cabin G5 2100 hrs**

Ino peeked through Sakura's bunk curtain. She found her curled up, unchanged and sleeping peacefully. She seemed okay.

"Ino-chan, is that you?" Hinata asked, peeking from the top bunk across from them.

"Yeah," the blonde replied flatly. "Karin in yet?"

"What's it to you?" the said girl asked, opening her own curtains and sitting on the side of her bed. She raised an eyebrow, as if challenging the blonde.

"I don't have the time for this," said the blonde as she took off her shoes.

"So, Sasuke and Pinky here had a huge public fight, eh?"

"What's it to you?" echoed Ino.

Karin just laughed as she got back into her bunk and closed up for the night. "Whatever."

"What happened?" Hinata asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Hell broke loose," was Ino's only answer as she too climbed into her bunk. The light inside was turned on for a while, but it quickly died after a few minutes. The blond girl didn't even say goodnight.

Hinata slipped back into her bunk and tried to fall asleep. With Naruto's voice ringing in her ears, there was no such luck.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **I wrote Chapter 4 ahead, so this one's a bit rushed. Again, I blame projects, research papers and our field trip to Negros Occidental. ^^ But I do thank the fact that our internet connection failed. That way, I wasn't tempted to go online on _Gaia_ or read manga in _Onemanga_. Yeah, I refer these sites to you. Add me in _Gaia_. My username is _pau-san_ ^^

**Sidenote: **(1) Just noticed. Teachers are supposed to be called by their surnames, right? But in the manga and anime, they've gotten used to using their names, so I just used that.

(2) Why do Sasuke and Sakura have to be so competitive? It's in their innate nature. What a blast that'll be when they actually direct that competitive tension towards each other in the manga lol.

(3) Yup, there are African tribes where that is practiced. Women? Working fields?! Damn, I got so worked up when I watched that episode of _Worlds Apart_. Even in my country, it has been mostly the men who work the fields. There were times when women worked too, but that was way back then. These days, farming has been more or less a guy thing. Isn't that the same with western culture? I think…

(3) Oh, so sorry to bring up the whole menstruation and circumcision thing. Those issues all come up in our debates in school. Good thing I didn't use the whole 'who-carries-the-babies' and 'who-makes-em' issue lol. That'd be too hilarious.

**Next time: **

"_Now what are you thinking about?" Tayuya asked Karin, who seemed to planning another one of her little schemes._


	5. Entry 4: Tension

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 4 - Tension**

**DAY 2**

**The Field 1000**

The Field was packed once again for the mandatory orientation tour, which the principal ordered absolutely everyone to attend despite their sorry states (due to lack of sleep caused by the party, no doubt).

"Oi, Sasuke," Naruto called out to his friend, slightly elbowing him, "Sakura's over there." He pointed at the other side of the crowd, where he could see the pink-haired girl nonchalantly chatting with some girls, as if last night's events had not had any effect on her. She seemed to be avoiding eye contact though.

The raven-haired boy merely turned to look at where his friend was pointing, the usual indifferent look on his face. "What about her?"

"Don't you want to apologize?"

Sasuke looked at him as if he thought Naruto was retarded. "What for? She was the one who walked out."

"You hurt her feelings."

"It was a debate," stated Sasuke. "She wasn't supposed to take it personally."

"At least as your friend, don't you think she deserves one?"

The raven-haired teen glanced at her once before saying, "Look, she seems fine to me." He turned to leave. "I need some fresh air. It's cramped in here."

Naruto groaned. Sasuke has been and always will be be that much of a stubborn ass. How was he supposed to get the two to make up? He did not want to be stuck in between for the rest of the summer… or even worse… the whole school year next year… or after that… and the one after…!

"T-there you are, Naruto-kun." He turned to see Hinata approaching timidly.

"How was she last night?" he asked, a somber look on his face.

"I don't know," she replied worriedly. "When I got there, she had already forced herself to sleep. At least, that's what I think she did. Even if she was awake, she refused to talk to me."

"That damn Sasuke seemed to have enjoyed that fight too much last night," remarked Naruto, irritation etched in his voice.

"I don't know about him," she replied, "but… Sakura didn't seem to be the least bothered by the incident when we talked this morning. In fact she seemed almost… cheerful. She did avoid the subject though. Do you think maybe she's over it?"

"Course not!" insisted Naruto. "I know her really well. And I'm sure she's still upset, though she doesn't show it."

"Naruto-kun… You might be overestimating the situation after all…"

"Let's see about that," he said stubbornly, taking her by the wrist and leading her to where Sakura and her group was. "Ei, Sakura-chan," he greeted the pink-haired girl before the others. "Ino-chan, Hana-san, Mikan-san, Shinju-san."

"Oh, Naruto," their pink-haired classmate said, simply that and nothing else. The other girls looked at him blankly, as if not knowing how to react.

"O-ohayou, minasan," added Hinata, hoping to break the awkward silence. "How's everyone doing?"

"Just fine," Sakura finally spoke up, an almost sad smile on her face. "Where's everyone else?" Yeah, more like _Where's that jerk Sasuke?_ to be exact.

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe they're late." He could see the anxious looks on the other girls' faces, save Ino's. Hers was blank and neutral. Like the face that Sai sometimes wore. The three others, Hana, Mikan and Shinju, upperclassmen, were whispering amongst themselves, giving him disapproving glances. Damn. Just because Sasuke was also his friend doesn't make him an enemy too, does it? Sakura was still obviously pissed at him (no, not Naruto, but Sasuke). He could practically see a dark aura on her. Almost.

"Wanna hang around in the meantime?" she asked. He could see her begging him to say no with those sea-green eyes. _Go. Before Sasuke comes here for you. I don't want to see him._

_Man, I have an active imagination_, Naruto thought, sighing inwardly. "Nah, gotta go look for him – I mean _them_," he replied. He gave Hinata a pat on the back before saying, "Ja ne." He turned and left, pushing through the crowd.

"The nerve!" Hinata heard the raven-haired girl, Shinju, say. "Showing his face!"

"I thought he was one of Sasuke's lackeys," grumbled the other girl, the curly-haired one named Mikan.

Hinata wanted to say something – anything- when Sakura spoke up. "Don't worry about Naruto," she said. "He's my friend."

"But he's a _boy_," pointed out Hana, the third girl with long caramel hair. "I thought you were mad at them."

"Not all of them," answered Sakura tiredly, like she didn't want to talk about it too much. "Just at Sasuke. Just Sasuke."

"But they made fun of you!" Shinju complained. "At us!"

Sakura looked down on the ground, as if waiting for something to suddenly sprout at her feet.

"Would you girls shut up?!" Ino suddenly snapped at them, the neutral look on her face gone. "She doesn't want to talk about it! You don't know what happened last night! It's none of your business!" The last statement she said almost came out as a hiss, her face red and burning.

Hinata helplessly watched as Ino led the downcast Sakura away, pushing through the crowd angrily. The three girls looked at the dark-haired girl expectantly, hoping for an explanation.

"Eto… Sakura, Naruto and I didn't join the fight," she finally explained. "Everyone else was fighting, and, uh, we had a hard time stopping them. T-then Sasuke showed up and stopped it all. We thought it was all okay… But he suddenly challenged Sakura with the same issue. Ano… In my opinion, it was just between the two of them."

She looked at the girls and saw that they understood.

Hana sighed. "Sorry, I guess we overreacted," she said.

"Okay, we won't meddle anymore," Shinju said, holding her hands up in surrender. "Promise."

"Too bad though…" Mikan said in what sounded like a long sigh. "They would've made such a cute couple." Surprisingly, the two other girls suddenly squealed like giddy fan girls, and the three started talking excitedly about it.

"Pardon me?" was all that Hinata could utter.

"I thought they were already going out!" Shinju yelped.

"Me too!" chorused the other two.

"Wha-what makes you think so?" asked Hinata, confused.

"We always see them together," Hana explained. "We thought they were an item."

"They're okay as a couple, I guess," the raven-haired girl stated.

"But they aren't… too bad…" mumbled Mikan.

Hinata shook her head. "T-they're just friends… That's all. Well, they _were_ supposed to be friends…"

The three girls sighed in unison.

"I hope they can settle this then," said Mikan. Her friend nodded in agreement.

Hinata waved at them as they went, all the while thinking about what was really going on with Sasuke and Sakura. It all seemed so confusing: Karin wanted to break them apart; Naruto was convinced they that they liked each other; the upperclassmen thought they were a couple and; everyone in class can't help tease them about being an item. Yet, why were they the only ones not convinced of that? What was going on?

**The Field 1005 **

"Naruto, where have you been, man?" Suigetsu demanded when the blond boy came into sight.

"Nowhere really," Naruto answered as he sauntered over to them. He glanced at the group of boys gathered before him – classmates and other friends within the batch. Why were they all here? "Why's everyone here all the way in the back?"

"'Coz it's stuffy in there?" remarked Kiba, stuffing his hands into his black sleeveless jacket's pockets.

"Right…" commented Naruto.

"They're running away from the girls," Suigetsu spoke up. "I just followed them here."

"Yeah, right."

"As if."

"Wake up, Suigetsu, you're dreaming."

"You've got to be kidding."

Suigetsu and Naruto looked at each other. Denial. Pure denial. They could both tell.

"There's nothing wrong with me not wanting to see Ino," Sai said. Naruto could see that he was wearing the same look Ino had been a while ago. Well, that was his excuse. What could the others come up with?

"Why should we be avoiding them?" Kankuro asked. "Dude, we won last night. Duh."

"We're not avoiding them. Period." Kiba was getting defensive.

Kankuro's brother, Gaara, simply shook his head as he made his way towards Naruto and Suigetsu. He didn't need to say anything for them to know that he didn't want to join a side either. Quiet and thoughtful, this redhead knew how to keep out of trouble… unlike his siblings… the two had been attacking each other all night last night.

"Stop being evasive," Suigetsu said to no one in particular.

"Just what the hell is this about?" Sasuke demanded, annoyed of the accusations that seemed to be directed at him.

"What? I didn't start it," Naruto said defensively when he saw his best friend glaring directly at him.

"This isn't about Sakura again, is it?" sneered the ebony-haired teen.

The guys had a variety of reactions. Some averted their gazes guiltily, others sighed in exasperation while the clueless ones looked on, confused.

Sasuke sighed deeply. "You guys are way worse than the girls," he said coldly. "Inflaming it like gossip." He waved them off as he left. "Whatever."

"Great, he's even angrier," Kiba murmured. "I'd rather stay here. A pissed Sasuke isn't a very nice one."

The other guys grumbled on while an apathetic Sai approached Naruto. "Get over it, Naruto," the raven-haired teen said in an almost whisper. "Mind your own business."

"I wasn't-"

Sai looked at him warily. Impressive how he could do that without changing his stoic expression.

Naruto tried averting his gaze but ended up catching Gaara's instead, who seemed to have the same reproachful look. _You could make it worse_, the aquamarine eyes seemed to be saying. The blond boy got the message. "Fine, I won't bother… I can't promise it though…"

Suigetsu looked at them and groaned. It would've been more exciting if they did something about it. Maybe screw it up even more… evil thoughts… evil thoughts…

They glanced at the other boys. They were talking to themselves, not even bothering with the whole Sasuke-Sakura thing. It was a girls' topic. Even if they wanted to talk about it, that sort of gossip was against their male egos.

"How about Ino?" Naruto asked Sai. It was a sensitive topic too, but he wanted to know.

"It can wait…" was Sai's only response.

**The Field 1010 **

Karin scanned the crowd and immediately spotted her beloved Sasuke near the south end of the Field. And… Sakura… Sakura… how she loathed Sakura… she was somewhere near the stage, to the north. She almost couldn't believe their distance. Perfect. Like she had expected. Last night was just one of those setbacks. So what if Pinky had asked Sasuke to the party before she could? It had been a downward spiral afterwards. But it's perfect now. _Perfect_.

Tayuya must've noticed and recognized her strange behavior, because she said, "Now what are you thinking about?" The redhead seemed to be planning something… again… She thought that Karin was absolutely crazy. She outright hated the cardinal-haired girl's harebrain schemes, but seeing as she hated pretty much everything, she tolerated the redhead and her craziness.

Karin just smirked evilly, giggling to herself as her mind did wonders to inflame her out-of-this-world fantasies.

Kin glanced once at their boss before rolling her eyes. She continued to paint her nails black, thinking how mad the self-proclaimed diva was. She never shared these thoughts with anyone before and only tolerated Her Craziness, because she was loads of fun when she thought up stuff for them to do.

A shrill buzz filled the air as someone took the podium and turned on the mike. "What the hell is wrong with this thing?!" was the first thing they heard when the buzz disappeared. "Oh, it's okay now. Ehem…" It was Tsunade; she demanded attention, and everyone gave it to her. "Students, you are to take a mandatory tour around the camp. G1, team up with B1 under Anko-sensei. G2 and B2 with Gai-sensei. G3 and B3 with Iruka-sensei. G4 and B4 with Kurenai-sensei, B5 and G5 with Kakashi-sensei, and lastly, B6 and G6 with Asuma-sensei. I expect you all to behave, understood?" She looked into every student's face – or made them feel as if she were –, threatening them in unsaid words what the consequences would be if they did otherwise.

She dismissed them before leaving the stage, and the students waited for her to leave within earshot range before squawking over how stupid the tour seemed. When the teachers rounded them up, they fell silent.

**The Field 1015 **

"There they are," Naruto said when he saw the girls from Cabin G5 approach. The atmosphere between the two teams was dry and full of static, something that the blond teen regretted. Even when the dispute wasn't exactly between the two groups, it felt awkward to start any conversation.

Naruto was very, _very_ anxious. Sasuke still looked steamed, an apparent frown on his face and an eyebrow twitching ever so slightly. Sai was a walking statue, cold and tense. Suigetsu was bored out of his mind, ready to sneer and give snide remarks to the next person who caught his unwarranted attention. Sakura was outwardly cheerful (or so it seemed). Ino had her nose in the air (_I am not talking to you, Sai, after what you said last night!_). Hinata was very quiet, nervous of whatever sparks may start flying at any minute. Karin was… Karin… the usual snobby bitch that she was (or made herself seem to be; we all know she's cooking up something in that gray warped place that's supposed to be her brain).

They turned to see their designated guide approaching, a cheerful and obviously curious look on his face. He would most definitely like to talk about last night. It wouldn't be like him if he didn't.

"Yo, kids," was Kakashi-sensei's greeting.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Sorry for the late entry… had this all written down, but never found the time… too damn lazy…I blame schoolwork… Despite what I said in the previous chappy, I decided to rewrite the whole chapter 4 lol. This one's better, ne? I've already started the next one, so no worries… I hope… this chappy was written during calculus, world literature and genetics.

**Side notes:** (1) For Sasuke, it's always been that way. Get Sakura mad, wait for her to calm down and get her mad again. Usual stuff a guy friend does (by experience; I don't mean to be discriminatory). They do that a lot to me too.

(2) Yes, Naruto might possibly have a hyperactive imagination. Or he could just read people like a book. Take your pick.

(3) Introducing Mikan (orange), Hana (flower) and Shinju (pearl). They're original ninja characters of mine based on me and my close friends. They have their own story, but I'm keeping that between me and my pals.

(4) "_But he's a boy_…" we've all heard that. Boys can't be trusted… blah blah blah… Well, that's what some girls think. I trust my male friends, but all I can say is not to trust them with school projects unless you're desperate or they're the genius types. LOL Just kidding!

(5) Suigetsu is so annoying, ne? That's what I love so much about him! So sinister yet so cute!

(6) Who said boys didn't like gossip?

(7) Karin is so twisted. She's even worse in the manga (shivers). Why shouldn't Tayuya and Kin dislike her?

**Next time: **

"_I don't need your help," Sakura barked at Sasuke, a look of mad defiance on her face._


	6. Entry 5: Wall

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 5 – Wall**

**DAY 2**

**The Field 1030**

"Yo, kids" was Kakashi's greeting, an amused look in his eyes. "I'll be your guide today."

The members of cabins G5 and B5 just stared at him.

"Sensei, is this tour compulsory?" inquired Sakura. "We already know our way around."

"For once, I agree with you, Pinky," said Karin, yawning behind her well-manicured hand.

The pink-haired girl shot her a look before asking again, "Can we skip this tour?"

"Yeah, Sensei," agreed Naruto, "we're all still tired from last night." He further established the claim by yawning loudly.

"Yeah… can we not do it, and just say we did?" asked Suigetsu just for the heck of it.

"Good idea!" said Kakashi, surprising his students.

"A-are you sure about this, Sensei?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"Well, there is one thing…"

Ino glanced at the boys, thinking what a wonderful idea it was to ditch the whole tour plan. "Why not, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked. "No one will know."

"I might get reprimanded for this," he said, thinking of Tsunade's probable wrath.

"We can do something else," suggested Naruto.

"We can just go wall-climbing," Suigetsu randomly blurted out.

"Good idea!" Kakashi remarked again, once again surprising the students.

Sasuke placed a hand over his face, an aggravated expression marring his features. "Sensei, are you serious?" he grumbled.

Sai raised a hand. "Sensei, won't it be inappropriate to go wall-climbing at this time?" he asked. "Why don't you just dismiss us so we can just go back to our cabins?" If he was still upset about last night, he was excellent at hiding it, his face cold and stoic.

"But then, I wouldn't be able to look after you guys," the silver-haired man said worriedly, pinching his brow as if in deep thought. "I am still responsible for your safety."

"Then. Let's. Do. The. Damn. Tour," Sasuke remarked, dragging every word in an attempt to hide his anger.

"Wall-climbing it is then," Kakashi suddenly said, nodding thoughtfully. "That'll be a great way to look after you."

The campers gaped at him incredulously, surprised by his fickle-mindedness.

"Well, what are you standing there for?" he asked them, already turning to leave. "Let's go to the Wall."

**The Wall 1045**

"D-did I-I mention I'm afraid of h-heights?" stammered a very pale Hinata in dismay as her knuckles matched her pallor from the mighty death grip she had on the plastic grip-hold on the wall.

"Hinata-chan, you're only a few feet from the ground," said Kakashi, a bit disappointed. What did he expect from her anyway?

"I'm not even dressed right!" she wailed, her pale legs shivering under the khaki shorts. It wasn't like anyone could see up her shorts. She was just…

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan," said Naruto, nearing the Wall. "You can make it all the way."

Seeing him so near… beneath her… Hinata shrieked loudly, flailing her arms around, losing her hold on the wall and thus causing her to swing around.

"Naruto, get her down!" Kakashi ordered, practically slapping a hand on his forehead. "Hinata! Next time, tap the wall first. That was horrible procedure practice."

Hinata cringed as Naruto helped her with the harness, embarrassed of their proximity.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly when he noticed her tenseness.

"I-I-I-m… I'm just f-fine!" she blurted out, her face burning red.

"Okay, okay, next victi– I mean, climber," amended Kakashi, "next climber…"

Karin suppressed a smirk, feigning boredom on her pale face. She picked at a lock of her scarlet hair, thinking how she'd damn well conquer that wall with no problem whatsoever. She spent all summer last year mastering the art of wall-climbing, _and_ she also owned her _own_ wall. She'd climb that baby in a few seconds flat, all forty feet.

When Sasuke sees her conquer that wall, he'll be impressed. Very impressed. She resisted the urge to double over in giddy laughter. _I have to be next!_

"Sakura." When Kakashi said her name, Karin almost lost her composure. Actually, her mouth fell open a couple of inches, and her glasses fogged over.

"Whaaaaat?!" was Sakura's reaction. "B-but I-I-" She looked around frantically, as if looking for a fire exit in a burning building.

"C'mon, Sakura-chan," encouraged Naruto, "it'll be fi-" he pulled his hand away from her arm in surprise when he felt her tense up.

Sakura remained frozen, rooted to the ground with that wide-eyed expression on her face. Karin looked on in amazement upon realizing her rival's apparent weakness. Was she afraid of heights? Of climbing? Of falling? Evil thoughts ran through her mind in extreme amounts, threatening to burst through her skull. It felt like a migraine, but a very good one.

"Sakura-chan?" inquired Kakashi. "Oi, hurry up please. So everyone can have a turn. If you want, one of the boys can help you with tha-"

"No!" she blurted out, suddenly marching up to the wall with intense determination. No way, she was not getting any of the boys to help, especially Sasuke. Not him. Either way, she did not want him to keep on thinking that girls couldn't handle themselves.

"Sasuke-kun," their teacher stated simply, motioning with his head towards the struggling girl.

At the sound of his name, Sakura grabbed the harness from Naruto and frantically started strapping herself in.

The raven-haired teen did as he was told… er… signaled to and approached the pink-haired girl. He was vaguely surprised when a determined-looking Naruto decidedly blocked his path, leaving little space between them. The blond teen had one of his rare, serious faces, which usually meant he was ready to take things into his own hands – er, fists. Sasuke was convinced though, that it didn't need to go that far. "What?" he muttered indifferently, used to his friend's random happy-to-serious mood wings.

"Are you blind?" was Naruto's irritated but hushed response. "She doesn't want to climb."

Sasuke glanced at her before returning his gaze. "Seems like she wants to," he remarked with a smirk.

The way Naruto was glaring at him, the ebony-haired boy could've overlooked the shorter boy's one and a half inch height difference. He was intimidating when he wanted to, and it was one of those times. Except Sasuke was already used to it. "Don't."

"Naruto, move it," said the raven-haired teen. "I don't know what the fuss is about."

His best friend looked at him in suspicion. A while ago, Sasuke had been annoyed. Very annoyed. Now, he was smirking in amusement. Surely, he was up to something. Something involving their cherry blossom-haired friend.

Sasuke pushed past him, brushing shoulders, and came up to Sakura, whose initial response was "Back off! I don't need your help!" It came out as more of a hiss, in a voice that she had never used with friends, no matter how aggravated she was. "I can handle myself."

"Sure you can," he said almost sadistically, peeking behind her. "Speaking of which…" he looked away, the look on his face making Sakura burn in hatred even more.

"What?" she growled, eyeing him suspiciously. She did not trust this man. No. Not anymore, she didn't.

He leaned in close and quick, whispering, "Your shorts are rising, Miss-I-Can-Handle-Myself." He moved back tactically to avoid any bombshells.

Surprisingly, not a single one came, a red blush burning through her cheeks instead as she realized that he had been speaking the truth. She had been wearing short semi-loose shorts, which were just short enough to rise high enough when she wasn't watching how she put on the harness carefully enough. Her hand pulled the hem of her shorts down in a mad hurry, the flush never leaving her face. "Did you see anything?" was her more-embarrassed-than-anything-else inquiry.

"Nope."

"Good," she replied. The flustered look on her face was replaced by one of pure defiance again as she regained her cool… er… heat…

No duh. Of course he saw them. They were… not the topic right now. Why'd she wear those shorts anyway? Again, not the topic. Sasuke didn't understand how he kept his cool anymore. More than anything, he wanted to make a fool out of her one way or the other, and it was taking all his pent-up energy to restrain himself from doing _something_. Contrary to common belief, he loved trouble just as much as Naruto or the next guy did; he was just discreet about it.

"And your harness is the other way around," he pointed out. "The powder bag goes on your back."

Karin viewed the more-or-less hushed conversation between her 'love' and 'rival'. She could make out a few sudden and surprisingly loud and shrieky words from Pinky, but otherwise, she couldn't tell what they were talking about. Surely, they must still be quarrelling, right? She wanted to get nearer, but she was acting as if she didn't care, so it would've been suspicious if she tried to. Why'd she have to hang in the back of the pack anyway?

She watched intently as Sakura threw another fit, cursing loudly at Sasuke in the most unfeminine way. _Minus points for her_, was her sinister thought.

"Sheesh, what is wrong with them?" Suigetsu remarked, amused. There was nothing more exciting to him than a verbal melee, but this one-sided squabble was interesting too. It didn't make sense, but hell yeah it was amusing!

"Everything," was Karin's unexpected response, a smirk threatening to escape her glossy lips.

The aquamarine-haired teen eyed her suspiciously, firstly, because he was caught off guard by her response, and secondly, because she was not into Sasuke… _or was she_?

The cardinal-haired diva noticed the look on his face but decidedly ignored it, looking away as not to further arouse his suspicion.

Suddenly, a smirk spread on his face, the slightly protruding canine more visible now as realization sunk in... very deep. He looked away, snickering.

"What?" Karin asked in a hoarse whisper, slight anxiety in her voice. Suigetsu had never been on her like list. Actually, thus far, only Sasuke had made it into the said list. To be more exact, Suigetsu was on her hate list. The dude was more annoying than the most annoying guys in school combined (undoubtedly Naruto, Kiba and Kankurou, who, unfortunately, were also attending the camp with her). He was smart though, and that made him dangerous. She had dedicated the whole year prior avoiding him, and it seemed to have been a waste.

He continued snickering, causing her to repeat her inquiry. "Whaaaaat?" She dragged the word like a dead man tied to the back of a horse wagon by a length of rope.

"Nothing really," he said slyly, placing his focus on the squabbling pair.

He was by far the only person she was aware of who had making-someone's-life-a-living-hell skills superior to hers. She remembered Ryu from her class. He was a jackass, and he had a quick fist and sharp mouth to boot. But Suigetsu wasn't afraid of him. Students would remember their verbal squabbles that almost ended up in fist fights back in school. No one knew the extent of what he had done to the resident bully when no one else was looking, but the last anyone saw of Ryu, he was raving mad in the infirmary, threatening to transfer schools. He did transfer, and people had the suspicion Suigetsu had to do with it, though they could never prove it. Suigetsu of Cabin G5 was one to watch. He could make her summer a living hell, and she knew that he knew that he was capable of it.

She didn't notice the furious flush creeping on her face, but when she did, it was too late to hide it. She looked away from him, but she could tell that he'd notice, even without him taking a sidewards glance. She could tell by the slight widening of his smirk.

Suigetsu of Cabin G5 was _definitely _one to watch.

She determinedly ignored him and returned to watching Sasuke and Sakura. Pinky was still grumbling as her 'oppressor' helped get the harness on her the right way. He was snickering in amusement, something the scarlet-haired girl found really cute – though she wished he wasn't so _near _to that – that –

"Stop fidgeting," Karin heard him say as he got up.

"I am not," snapped Sakura at him in reply.

To everyone's surprise, Sasuke suddenly slipped his arms around her waist. She merely looked on with a stunned look on her face as the space between them was reduced to a minimal.

Jaws dropped, gasps of surprise filled the air and a pair of glasses fogged over.

Suigetsu eyed the shocked Karin in amusement, snickering even more.

"Sasuke, you idiot," Naruto grumbled under his breath, slapping his forehead with an open palm. Sakura will be so pissed.

Hinata must've been aware of that possibility, because she clutched his arm in fear of what might happen.

"Get - you - hands - off - me -" was Sakura's slow and angry demand, her fists clenching tightly at her sides.

"I said, stop moving," Sasuke said indifferently. "I have to lock your harness." A click was heard as the lock caught, and he moved a step back to face her.

She glared murder at him, her face aflame. "Was that necessary?" she growled. "You won't pass off any opportunity to harass me, will you?" was her discreet accusation.

He smirked again, shrugging. "You're ready to climb."

"Okay, Sakura," said Kakashi, as if unaffected by the scandalous scene. "Say 'climbing' when you're ready. You don't have to hurry, but don't stall. The others want to climb too. Sasuke, you'll be the watcher." He took a hold of the climbing rope, ready to act as the belayer. Sasuke took a few steps back, looking on in interest, expecting the worst to happen.

The pink-haired girl hesitated before determinedly positioning a hand and a foot on the moldings. "Climbing," she said almost inaudibly.

Naruto watched from a safe distance, ready to catch her if necessary. A worried-looking Hinata stood beside him, trying to understand the gravity of the situation.

"Climb on," said Kakashi as he once again manned the climbing rope.

Sakura started slowly, taking her time to plan her next steps and holds ahead of time. She recalled Kakashi saying something about some of the grip-holds being purposely loose. Any of the holds which moved with her touch were avoided, and she made her way up without much trouble.

Karin grit her teeth beneath her sealed lips, thinking, _Fallfallfallfallfallfallfallfall_!

"Don't worry, Sakura," Suigetsu suddenly shouted up at her. "If you fall, Sasuke'll catch you."

Karin sharply turned towards him, glaring at him intensely.

The aquamarine-haired boy turned towards her with a wide grin, holding up a peace sign.

_Oh, this was war_, thought Karin.

Sakura was taken back by Suigetsu's remark for a split second. But it was just long enough for her to lose her concentration, causing her to slip and, well, you get the idea.

She shrieked loudly, but managed to regain her hold on the grips after the rope held her in place.

"Sakura-chan, you okay?" Kakashi asked. "Oi, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, away from the wall," he added, as the boys have already moved in to… wait, Sasuke was planning to do what?

"Okay, Sensei," the blond boy replied, backing away. "Sakura-"

"I'm fine!" was her breathless response.

Naruto marched up beside Sasuke and whispered, "Oi, teme, what're you planning?"

Sasuke continued walking on. "What makes you think I'm going to rub it in her face?" he asked with a smirk, dodging a punch to the arm from his friend.

"You are a really horrible person," Naruto said through his teeth. Usually, that would've been a childish thing to say, but with the way he said it, one could see that he really meant it.

"Took you long enough to find out," was Sasuke's reply. He turned towards the Wall, and said something that Naruto would've done anything to prevent him from saying. "Sakura," he called out, "don't look down!"

The pink-haired girl had just regained her momentum again when he said that, but suddenly just stopped. She was frozen in place, her gaze directed downward. "Senseeeeeeei…" she said in a forced voice.

"Sakura-chan, you can finish that!" encouraged Naruto.

He saw her shake her head, pressing it against the wall. He could tell that she was forcibly keeping her eyes shut so as not to see how far up she really was. Damn that Sasuke.

Sakura managed to tap the wall, ever so weakly, her arms quivering as she did. She looked like a shaking leaf against the breeze in her current state. She clung to the rope with her eyes still shut tight, tears making their way to the surface. She did not want to show weakness, especially with him watching. She was strong. She knew she was. But why? Why this weakness?

She barely remembered her short exchange of commands between her and Kakashi and finally found herself descending.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **This chappy was done while we edited our research paper. We spent sleepless nights on it, and if our teacher didn't give us a curfew (sometimes 2 or 3 am), we would've never slept a wink. BTW Do you have a Gaiaonline account? Add me, dudes, and we'll spend Halloween together! My username is _pau-san_.

**Side notes:** (1) I've actually had teachers like Kakashi, who are like, "We won't be having classes today. Don't tell anyone, 'kay? Bye now." Yeah, you know who you are, Sir Scarcity and Sir Most Handsome Physics Teacher forebah (no, it was not I who called him that; it was self-proclaimed).

(2) Sasuke may be boring (at least from our perspective), but that doesn't mean he doesn't like trouble (also violence, cars, video games, etc.) like every other guy. In my opinion, if he were given the chance (in the canonverse), he'd compete with Naruto over anything, even if it meant getting into big, big trouble. He doesn't fear danger (or authoritative figures) anyway.

(3) What is it about Suigetsu? The way I look at it, as a Kiri nin, he's amused by fighting, squabbling, quarrelling, killing, etc. The way he acted towards Karin in the manga showed how much he liked tormenting her. Why though? Probably because he thinks she's way out of her league and just wants to rub it in her face? Thus far, he has not yet been properly analyzed or explained, so I can't quite place my finger on him… 'Til then, this is the only explanation I have. Wuv him.

(4) Like I said in the previous chappy, Sasuke tends to act… well… I did mention that some guys I know are like that, right? Trouble-making dudes who, when comfortable enough around a female friend, often forget her gender and sometimes treat her the way they'd treat guys – sometimes almost bordering on sexual harassment. I don't mind the occasional dirty joke, but sometimes it gets out of hand.

(5) Sasuke is such a horrible person. Wait, you haven't read chapter 6 yet! See how horrible he can get!

**Next time: **

"_Look," Karin demanded, baring her perfect pearly whites, "I don't appreciate what you've been doing lately! If you know what's good for you, you better stop bothering me!"_

_Suigetsu just flashed that smirk again, sidestepping her. "Well, as it turns out," he said with a shrug as he walked off, waving a hand, "I don't know what's good for me."_


	7. Entry 6: Bleed

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 6 – Bleed**

**DAY 2**

**The Wall 1115**

"It's okay, Sakura-chan," Naruto tried, hopelessly encouraging as he helped her out of the harness. "You can do it next time." He knew she wouldn't and couldn't, but what else could he say?

"Sorry about what I said a while ago," Suigetsu apologized to her. Yeah, sorry he had to use her to get Karin upset. It worked though, so he didn't regret it _that_ much…

Sakura ignored him and started walking off, wiping her eyes. No good trying to hide her tears anymore. Everyone had already seen them.

"Good try -"

She directly glared at Sasuke, the tears stinging her eyes and threatening to fall again. She shoved him and pushed past him and his lame excuse of not being too obvious.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, as if unimpressed by what he considered an overly dramatic exit. No one failed to notice though, that there was a war going on, and he was definitely the fire starter.

Karin watched from her safe distance as the pink-haired girl marched off. Only she found it amusing. When Sakura's totally gone, she'd have Sasuke all to herself. Even Suigetsu's lame attempt at getting below her skin was forgotten. Screw him. Sasuke was hers, and Suigetsu of all people wasn't going to ruin it for her.

"Okay, everyone, how about lunch?" suggested Kakashi, merrily even, as if unperturbed by the whole scene that had just taken place.

**Cooperative Building 1130 **

"Look," Karin demanded, baring her perfect pearly whites, "I don't appreciate what you've been doing lately! If you know what's good for you, you better stop bothering me!" She glared at him, ready to make the smallest provocation an excuse to claw his face in. She didn't have her nails done for nothing.

Despite the… incident… Kakashi had insisted that the whole tour group should eat lunch together and had Ino forcibly fetch Sakura. Before they got to the Coop though, Karin grabbed the opportunity to tell Suigetsu off before he could do anything else to pester her.

Suigetsu just flashed that smirk again, sidestepping her. "Well, as it turns out," he said with a shrug as he walked off, waving a hand, "I don't know what's good for me." Or it could just encourage him.

She moved as if to pull him back and continue threatening him, but suddenly stopped herself in mid-stride when she saw that they were already within eyesight of the entire Coop population. Perhaps later then…

She followed the group to the Canteen, where there was a queue for ordering lunch. The all-you-can-eat buffet during the first day was a welcoming treat, but from now on, the food had to be bought (by credit, of course, to be paid later by their hard-working parents). She cut in line between Tayuya and Kin and grabbed a bento with garden salad and croquets despite the large variety of more loaded dishes.

By the time she got out of line, Kakashi had already spotted her and waved her over to an empty table. She shooed her cronies off, mumbling something about needing to do this against her will.

"How'd you get here so fast anyway?" she asked her sensei, seeing the mass of food stacked before him that he should've needed more time to gather. A bento of spring rolls and pork buns, another one of rice balls, another one of sesame dumplings and one that had this weird orangey vegetables in it. _Kimchi?_

"We teachers can special order our food ahead of time and pick 'em up at the faculty lounge," he explained, spreading his goods around so he could access each lunchbox better. "Neat, right?"

They have a faculty lounge? Karin rolled her eyes as she took a seat on the other end of the table, far enough from him without needing to sit in front of him, as he had taken the seat at the head of the table.

She was about to break her chopsticks when he said, "Aw, come one, Karin-chan, let's wait for the others."

_Chan_. She hated that suffix. She gave him a big fake smile and put her chopsticks down. She looked at the line, searching for the rest of those fools – er – tour group. Naruto and Suigetsu were making a ruckus somewhere in the middle of the line, fussing over this and that and most likely ordering enough to feed a hundred anorexics who would refuse to eat anyway. Sasuke and Sai were just beside them, looking like twins from that distance. Dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin. _Twins_. And the girls? Her cabinmates had teamed up somewhere at the end of the line, taking things slowly. This'll take a while.

The boys must've procrastinated long enough, because they arrived the same time as the other girls did. Who knows how many had cut in ahead of them as Naruto and Suigetsu held up the line too long too often. As usual, the loudmouths were still at it, their volume only slightly muffled if they had something in their mouth, while everyone else silently took their seats.

To Karin's dismay, Sasuke sat on the other side of the table, just adjacent to Kakashi, while… Suigetsu?! She gaped at him as he took the seat in front of her. He had a spring roll sticking out of his mouth as he attempted to talk to Naruto, place his spoils on the table _and_ seat himself _all_ at the same time. He had gobbled up the spring roll before he finally noticed who was seated just in front of him.

"Yo," he greeted her with another one of his annoying smirks.

She got up, preparing to steal someone else's seat if she had to. There was no way she was sitting in front of this… this…

"Karin-_chan_," stated Kakashi, seemingly straining the unwarranted suffix in her ears. "Sit down so we can all eat."

She glared at Naruto and Suigetsu. Both had food hanging out their mouths. _Fine_. She plopped down unto her seat with a huff, hating how the silver-haired teacher treated her like a child.

"Itadakimasu!" Kakashi cheered, breaking his chopsticks. At that moment, Naruto and Suigetsu dove into their heap of food with much gusto. The rest of the table took it slower, actually _chewing_ their food unlike the hyperactive duo.

Karin stole a glance at Sasuke as she took a chomp of some garden salad. Man, he looked hot even when he was eating. He was eating some sort of okonomiyaki with the usual bored look on his face. So hot. If she didn't have any self-control, she'd be all over him like a fan girl. Except she did have self-control. Damn that inner disciplinarian in her.

Beside him was Sai, who was very proper about dismembering a croissant. He reminded her a lot of Sasuke, but he seemed too courteous and a bit more relaxed, so she didn't go for him (she thought artists were sucky). Beside the said Sasuke look-alike was Naruto, a cross between a golden retriever and her annoying younger cousin. Why does Sasuke even tolerate him? She commended him for not losing any brain cells over his blond friend. And right in front of her was that shark boy. Sheesh, talk about weird. He was smart, but he was such a dork. He had food dangling out of his mouth, for crying out loud!

Her gaze then fell slightly to the left, where the rest of the girls sat. Hmph. Hinata sat next to her. Figures. She was eating some cake in the daintiest way Karin had ever seen. If the girl knew better, she wouldn't eat that sort of sugar-hyped crap. Next to the dark-haired girl was Ino, that stuck-up blond bitch, eating spaghetti. For all Karin knew, Blondie probably threw up everything she ate as soon as she got back to the safety of the cabin. And lastly was Pinky, sitting at the other end of the table and painfully eating her way through a custard bun. Ah, screw her. Kakashi was to the pink-haired girl's left, and the person sitting in front of her was… Sasuke?!

Why were they sitting in front of each other?!

She turned away as soon as she realized that she had been gaping at them. But not fast enough.

"What are you? A stalker?" someone asked from across the table, just loud enough for her and not anyone else to hear.

Karin opened her mouth to assail the comment's source, but closed it just as quickly when she realized she didn't want to cause a scene in front of everyone.

Suigetsu seemed to have noticed her last minute decision to protect her pride, because he just smirked even wider behind the safety of a giant hamburger bun, the only thing concealing their private little conversation from the rest of the table.

She glued on a stone cold mask on her face and started eating her food military-style: quickly and accurately. The salad was heavier than she thought and took longer than expected. When she was through, she slapped the chopsticks together, shouted a quick, "Gochisousama deshita" and got up, bento in hand.

She ran off, fearing that a reprimand from Kakashi might make her have to stay longer in that table. She searched for Tayuya and Kin.

**The Greenhouse 1215 **

"Let's use this free day to the fullest!" Ino exclaimed cheerfully, slipping through the greenhouse door.

"Ino, I don't think we should be going i-" Sakura gasped as she took in the splash of colors. The greenhouse was gorgeous – it was stocked with various colorful blossoms, climbing vines on the glass and adorable little bonsai resembling grown willows. A few trees dotted the horizon, but did little to take away the attention from the awesome display.

"Wow, there's even some birds of paradise here," chirped Ino. As the daughter of the owner of a flower business, she knew her flowers well. "Sai gave me some whe-" She stopped, looking sordidly at the flower. "Let's just go." She marched off, leaving the greenhouse.

"Ino!" Sakura called after her. "The greenhouse-"

"We can see it when we have gardening with Yamato-sensei."

Her pink-haired friend caught up with her and pulled her back. "Are you okay?"

The blonde nodded her head, the tears threatening to fall. "I – I just miss him… that's all…"

"Ino… you know, you don't have to hate him, because Sasuke and I had a fight-"

"It's not that! Or the boy-girl thing. I just realized we had nothing in common – I mean, other than being gorgeous – but…" She gave a weak laugh at her own joke. "It was all just physical attraction, right? All the while, I wanted him on a short leash just to appease me. The truth was he didn't like it that way. He just stuck around 'coz we looked good together…" She sobbed, glancing at the greenhouse. "And we did our flower shop's inventory together!"

If Sakura hadn't known better, she wouldn't have understood why Ino would feel upset over just that. Flowers and _ikebana_ were a form of expression for the blond girl. What she couldn't express in words came in beautifully-made intricate flower arrangements. "Ino…"

The blonde's face suddenly brightened, though the sadness reflected in her eyes refused to falter. "You know, I'm glad this happened," she said, laughing softly. "It would've ended soon enough anyway…"

Sakura sighed. She had no right to interfere with her friend's love life. The only thing she could do was cheer her up. "Come on," she said, taking her blond friend's hands in hers, "let's cheer you up!"

"I don't need cheering up. I'm just fine."

"Let's get you some pudding!"

"… Okaaay… so maybe I do need some cheering up," laughed Ino, letting her friend whisk her off for her favorite cavity-inducing pudding.

**The Lake 1215 **

"Why don't you apologize already?"

Sasuke threw a rock at the glimmering water surface. The rock skipped thrice before sinking. "You've been telling me to do that for the last thirty minutes, you know."

"I'm serious," Naruto said, hugging his knees. The two were sitting on the shore, doing particularly nothing but look into the lake, throw rocks or diss each other. "Say sorry."

"'Kay already. Sorry."

"What?"

"Sorry for whatever manner or act I have done to offend you. Now stop bugging me." He made another rock skip.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's bangs and pulled his head down, shouting, "Not me! SAKURA!"

"What for?!" Sasuke demanded when his hair was released. "And don't touch my hair!" He smoothed down the tousled bangs over his eyes.

"Well?"

"There is nothing to apologize for!"

"You know there is! Don't be so self-centered!"

"You're the one who's self-centered! 'Coz you're the one who doesn't want to get caught in between!"

Naruto looked hurt by the comment but suddenly put on a really aggravated face. "You're such an ass."

"So hee-ho," Sasuke said, doing a poor impression of an ass's honk as he lay back on the grassy earth. "I've just been acting the same way I always do. She never minded before. Now she's all drama queen on me."

"'Coz she's so sick of you, you jerk!" attacked Naruto, glaring at the sapphire lake. "Now I'm the only one who can officially tolerate you!"

"That's 'coz you're the only people I act that way to. I just ignore everyone else."

"You and your twisted way of showing people you care." Naruto buried his face in his arms for a while before looking at his raven-haired friend. "Just apologize."

"And make her think I'm just doing it make myself look like the bigger man?"

"What?"

"You do realize, that she thinks that every single thing I do is a form of male chauvinism, don't you?"

"That's your fault. You started it!"

"Whatever. I'm not apologizing. It'll just get worse if I do."

"Aaargh!" shouted Naruto, pulling at his own blond bangs.

"You know, you worry too much."

**Cooperative Building 1215 **

"Hinata-chan! Where'd you come from?!" Ino shrieked over the table and the stack of pudding cups.

Sakura covered her ears in shock. "Put a lid on it!" she scolded her friend. Sheesh, why did she have to be so embarrassing? And to have shrieked into her ear, no less. At least she was back to normal… somewhat…

Hinata approached their table, a handkerchief draped over a bent arm. "Hello," she greeted them.

"So – so –" chanted Ino. "Where were you?!"

"Huh?"

"You were with Naruto, weren't you?!"

Hinata blushed a beet red, stuttering hopelessly. "I-I – w-we – b-but – I – um – he – w-we – oh!" Her hands flew to her face as she shook her head, shrieking a muted shriek.

"Ino!" reprimanded Sakura, pulling her hyperactive friend down back to her seat. "Are you okay, Hinata?"

"I-I-" stammered the girl, her face still scarlet. "I-I w-was pick-picking flowers in t-the-" She shrieked again, hiding her face again. The hanky on her elbow fell, revealing a basket brimming with blooms.

"You were?!" Ino exclaimed, disappointed. She pouted miserably. "Aaaaw… I thought you were hanging out again…"

"Again?" were Hinata and Sakura's responses.

"Yeah, didn't Naruto walk you to the cabin after the party? And you were with him in the assembly this morning! And-"

"Really?!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly. She had known of Hinata's crush since… they'd met? Wow, that was pretty long…

"W-we… We didn't – I mean, it's – it's not what you think… I…" The dark-haired girl's expression was of embarrassment, but a faint look of disappointment fell through.

"It's okay, Hinata-chan…" Ino said. "We'll work on it!"

The blush returned to the timid girl's face, so Sakura stepped in and said, "She's kidding! Aren't you?" She glared at her friend, making sure she got the idea. The blonde shrugged uncooperatively. "The flowers… What are they for?" she asked in an attempt to deviate from the Naruto issue.

"For the cabin," she meekly replied, picking up her fallen handkerchief. "I think I'll drop them off at the cabin then…"

"We'll go with you," Sakura replied.

"Yeah, you need some tips, girl," snapped Ino, referring to their previous topic of conversation.

"Don't mind her," the pink-haired girl told Hinata, rolling her eyes. "Let's go."

**The Lake 1230**

"Oh, fantasizing over Mr. Tall, Pale and Handsome?" Suigetsu evaded a punch directed his way. "Whoa, in a fighting mood, aren't we?"

Karin glared at him, seething. "What the hell is wrong with you, you creep?!" she yelled. "Stop stalking me!"

"Oi, Naruto! Sasuke!" he suddenly called out, waving towards the shore.

She yelped in surprise, jumping behind the tree she had been hiding behind before.

"Wanna race?" she heard him shout at the other boys. She could make out the sounds of the Naruto and Sasuke's voices as they accepted the challenge. The class swimmer suddenly peeked at her from the other side of the tree and said, "You know what, you should watch. You might like what you see."

"And what the hell would that b-" She halted, her hand jumping to her mouth. She saw Suigetsu running to the shore – where Sasuke and what's-his-name were stripping to their swimming trunks!

A vein broke somewhere, and she felt something warm and sticky on her hand. She looked at the said hand and saw that it was a warm scarlet in color. Blood. God, she was having a nosebleed!

She glanced towards the shore. Damn it, Sasuke was doing stretches! Why did he have to be so damn hot?! She turned and ran for it, afraid of more serious injury. She could tell that Suigetsu was watching, probably laughing his head off. And she could just imagine what would happen if Sasuke saw her pathetic state. Her face was flushing red from the embarrassment, though she was already losing much blood.

She was a master operator; manipulator of whims. How can some childish nitwit (albeit a _smart_ childish nitwit) like Suigetsu do this to her? Oh, it was so on.

She rushed to the cabin, fuming and embarrassed at the same time. She had to do something; she was getting blood on her shirt, shorts _and_ shoes. The wooden cabin came into sight – and so did her cabinmates!

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Again, done during the fiasco known as the research paper emergency. Stupid contest! Why did we need to join?! If I disappoint our teacher, I'll be so upset!

**Side notes:** (1) Someone brought up why Sakura's afraid of heights. I'm a little vague on the details (translation: I haven't thought about it yet), but I'll work on it.

(2) And SuiKa? Ehem ehem… (shifty eyes) ehe… what makes you think that? (Twiddles fingers while humming an innocent tune)

(3) And sorry if the chapter is Karincentric. The focus will go around once in a while, so watch out!

(4) Is Kakashi that dense? Wait and see for yourself in the upcoming chapters.

(5) Military-style eating?! Too cool. I love our CAT training (army training that's required for all public high schools and optional for the private ones), but what I really wanna try is the strict synchronized eating that goes with a cadence lol. I saw it once when I saw the ROTC in my old university (ROTC is the college version, and joining it is optional). Each chomp was so well-coordinated! Also, I have this friend who doesn't seem to be in any rush when eating, but blink, and hey, the food's gone. She looks relaxed, but she's actually eating it fast.

(6) Sasuke is too proud (and smart enough) not to apologize. Unfortunately, that still won't solve the problem.

(7) Nosebleed!!! Never had one before. It's a Japanese old wive's tale that you get a nosebleed if you get aroused or being a hentai or being exposed to a really hot bishounen. Back in my high school, the term 'nosebleed' has become a popular term for when someone gets extra corny. In my college, it's the term for when something gets too complicated or if someone's being monstrously smart. And yes, the blood can get on your shoes. A friend got hit on the face with a softball in their physical education class, and when I met her later in the afternoon, she had blood on her white sneakers. 0.o

**Next time:**

"_You don't let grudges go that easily," exclaimed Ino. "You can't just let him get away with it!"_


	8. Entry 7: Apologize

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**A note to** _ryoko hina_**:** Sorry, anything 'good' won't be happenin' in a while. I love 'em fighting just too much. Btw, add an e-mail add next time, k? So I can e-mail ya.

**CHAPTER 7 – Apologize**

**DAY 2**

**Cabin Path 1230**

"Don't bring him up," snapped Sakura. "I don't want to talk about it."

"What?!" Ino exclaimed, not letting her get away. "You don't let grudges go _that_ easily. You can't just let him get away with it!"

"And you were the one patronizing _forgive and forget_."

"FYI, I didn't forgive Sai. He's at the top my list."

"That high?" laughed Sakura. "You hate him that much?"

"Duh, you should expect no less."

"Eto… and what list it that?" Hinata asked, clueless.

"The _list_," answered Ino. "You know… it's a… a list? You know, a hate list. Something like that. Why? Don't you have one?"

"Me? Uh, no… I don't…"

"You don't?!"

"Stop talking about that," said Sakura. "Leave Hinata-chan alone."

"Pfft, why?" asked Ino. "Isn't Sasuke at the top of your list?"

"No, why?"

"Seriously?!"

"So what? You can get over your boyfriend," reasoned the pink-haired girl. "Sasuke was a barely a friend to me."

"You forgive him that easily?"

"I didn't say anything about forgiving him. I mean, I'll forget that I even knew him in the first place. Let's not talk about it."

Ino sighed in disappointment. "Whoa, that's harsh," she said. "Even for me."

"He deserves it," Sakura said in a determined tone.

"But, Sakura," started Hinata, "don't you know him since…"

"Elementary?" Sakura provided. "So? It's not like I had fond memories with him."

"Oh, shut up, you liar," accused Ino.

"How would you know?"

"I've been you're friend since way before that, and you happened to tell me everything!"

"You must be talking about another girl, because I don't recall any, okay? What are you talking about anyway?"

"Are you sure you don't remember?"

"Whatever it is, don't tell me," Sakura decided, finally convinced that _perhaps_ Ino did know about such things. She _did_ want to forget him, didn't she? Why bring up old memories? "Anyway, whatever happens, I won't let this ruin my summer," she said in an effort to change the subject.

"Me neither!" exclaimed the blonde, pumping a fist in the air. "On the bright side of things, I'm single now! You know what that means!"

"Yeah, fraternizing with the _enemies_, as I recall you calling them."

"Eh?" Ino must've forgotten that she now hated guys in general and avoided them most of the time.

Hinata watched as the two girls continued conversing in a similar way. She didn't quite understand what was going on, but she didn't plan to get involved, even when she wanted to help fix things. She heard quick steps approaching and was surprised to see an equally shocked Karin stopping in her tracks. The scarlet-haired girl's face seemed to have reddened when she was them, and she turned to leave, a hand still over the lower half of her face.

"Ah! W-wait!" stammered Hinata. "Karin-san!"

**Archery Area 1300 **

"I wonder what my brother's doing right now…"

"Don't even mention one of those – those…" Tenten couldn't even put her thoughts into words, especially with the whirl of emotions inside her. "Aaargh!" she grunted, hitting a bullseye on the target with a precise arrow.

"Oi, calm down," Temari told her, a bit fearful for her life. "No need to get worked up."

The two were in the archery area, enjoying the freedom the free afternoon gave them. Asuma-sensei sat in the equipment shed, guarding the stuff like Cerberus at the gates of Hell. 'Free day' did not mean 'get-away-with-Asuma's-equipment' day.

"Sorry!" Tenten said in a whiny way, sounding like she was frustrated and apologetic at the same time. "I mean, I'm still not over what happened back there! Those – those-"

"Okay, okay, I understand."

"And you're worried over them?!"

"Just Gaara!" snapped the older girl. "If you recall, it was that pig Kankurou I was bickering with. I still think Gaara's in the neutral."

"But he still hangs out with them. I don't suppose you can speak with each other when your friends are around."

"I guess…" Temari said, sighing. "What a mess."

"You're having second thoughts," Tenten pointed out. "I thought you're taking a stand with us. I didn't know you were the type to give in like this."

"I'm not giving in. After all, I competed over student council president status with a couple of _guys_. I have a strong opinion on this case as you or any other girl does. I just think it's going too far."

"I bet there's some guy you have the hots for," Tenten mumbled absently, a bit disappointed at her friend, as she stringed another arrow.

"Couldn't you find me a better excuse?" Temari asked, amused. "Or are _you_ the one who's trying to make a scene for someone you have the hots for."

"What?!" exclaimed the chocolate-haired just as she released the arrow. It whizzed past the target and ended up lodged in a nearby stump. "Huh? Me?" she asked, a blush on her face.

"Eh, nice shot," a sarcastic voice said. The girls turned to see Neji positioned across from an adjacent target, already aiming his arrow. His eyes on the mark, he released the projectile. It hit bull's-eye. He turned and smirked. "Go find another sport, why don't you?"

Tenten returned his glare with the intensity of a laser beam. "I bet I will," she answered defiantly as she turned away sharply and headed to Asuma-sensei to return the gear.

Meanwhile, Temari eyed the cocky boy suspiciously. _Never mind_, she thought, dispersing the idea as she too walked off.

**Cabin G5 1330 **

"I've got the ice!" a breathless Hinata exclaimed as she burst through the cabin door, a dripping bag of ice in one hand.

Sakura took the wet plastic bag without another word, took out the block of ice and wrapped it in a hand towel. She handed the cold package to Karin, who sat on her own bunk, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Here," the pink-haired girl finally said, "you can press that against the bridge of your nose. That'll stop the bleeding."

Hinata was surprised to hear a low grumble from Karin that sounded like a 'Thank you'. She was not surprised though, when she heard Ino snicker from the Sakura's bunk across the room.

"Cut it out," snapped Sakura, nudging her blond friend to give her room to sit.

"What?!" Ino asked, dragging the word heavily as she feigned innocence. "It's not like I accused her of seeing Sasuke naked."

One of Karin's hands automatically jumped over her nose. There was no mistaking it. Ino saw that new trace of blood before the scarlet-haired girl could hide it.

"Ohmygodohmygod!" screeched the blonde in excitement. "You did, didn't you?!"

The cardinal-haired girl's face turned so red it seemed as if it would burst into flames and melt the ice block at any moment. Instead of bursting though, she jumped to her feet and marched out of the cabin, pushing past Hinata while still keeping the pack of ice against her face.

Ino giggled giddily, only to be cut short by a sudden whack on the head with yet another pillow. "What was that for?!" she demanded from her agitated best friend.

"That was inappropriate!" Sakura scolded her.

"It was true!"

"It was a very rude below-the-belt shot in the dark."

"Shot in the dark, maybe. Below the belt? She was guilty as hell, hun, so put that pillow down."

"It was mean!" The pillow rose above the blonde's head threateningly.

"This isn't a Friendship Parade. Besides, I was getting back at her for what she did to you."

"Well, I don't appreciate it!"

A look of disbelief fell on Ino's face. She crossed her arms and looked away, grumbling to herself. "You and your _moral_ values. Don't you respect yourself?"

"I do," replied the cherry blossom namesake. "And I respect others the same way I respect myself, my parents and even you. Stop worrying about me and my problems. If you dwell on these things too much, you'll grow wrinkles."

The blonde instinctively felt her face for blemishes and such, only to receive a round of giggles from her remaining cabinmates. She pouted grumpily at their reaction, and not one bit of Sakura's efforts to cheer her up worked.

As the pink-haired girl continued to try and work her charm, Hinata noticed the flowers she had gathered. They were in a vase on the table between the bunks. They were in a bit of disarray. There was one thing that would cheer the blonde up. She approached the vase and said, "Ino, can you teach me how to arrange these flowers?"

At the mention of flower arranging, Ino perked up and jumped to her feet. She hovered over the flowers and had already deftly maneuvered the blooms around when she started saying, "Well, it goes like this actually…"

Sakura gave Hinata a thankful smile before getting up and leaving the cabin. Where did that Karin go?

**Lake 1630 **

"How fun was that?!" exclaimed Suigetsu as he pulled himself up the old wooden port, his light hair dripping streams unto his face.

"Great!" Naruto replied, shaking his head of the water trapped in his hair (to no avail, I might add).

Sasuke grunted in response, merely slipping into his black button-up, forgetting that he was still dripping wet. Who suggested swimming when there wasn't a single towel lying around to dry off with later? Stupid, really.

"What's with him?" Suigetsu discreetly asked Naruto.

"He's just grumpy he lost to you back there," answered the blond-haired teen, running a hand through his undrying locks. "All _twenty-two_ laps."

"You lost too!" snapped the dark-haired teen.

"Sore loser," Naruto muttered as Suigetsu broke into laughter, having trouble hauling himself up.

"If it's any consolation," the champion swimmer remarked, "you lost to the _best_."

Sasuke grunted again, refusing to meet their gaze as he was about to put on his pants.

"You know, putting on your clothes isn't gonna help," Suigetsu told him. "Let's just head back to the cabin as is."

"That's fine with me," Naruto said, picking up his clothes. "It's summer camp after all. Besides…" he eyed Sasuke slyly. "We gotta give the girls some fan service."

"Shut up," snapped the dark-haired boy. "Go give them that yourself."

"Sasuke, oh so conservative," Suigetsu said with a laugh as he too picked up his scattered belongings. "What are you? A girl? You're soaked anyway. No need to hide."

With that, he and Naruto started heading off to the cabins, wet and half-naked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes in annoyance and threw his pants on one shoulder. Whatever. It's not like he had heart motifs on his swimming trunks. And hey, it'll be torture for the girls. Not a bad idea after all…

**Lake Path 1630 **

"There you are!" Sakura exclaimed when she spotted a fuming Karin sitting under one of the oaks on the path leading to the lake.

The other girl glared at her fiercely, yet her mouth kept tight in a straight line. She was a tough one.

"I want to apologize for what Ino said," the pink-haired girl said when the other refused to reply.

The silence clung in the air around Karin like a dark cloud. She seemed mad, yet she still managed to keep her cool.

"Uh… I see the bleeding's stopped," Sakura remarked when there was still no reply.

Karin got up sullenly, leaving the moist towel on the ground. She met the pink-haired girl's gaze with her own smoldering orbs and said, "If you're going to talk to me about something as useless as that, don't even bother talking to me." She walked away and started heading down the oak-lined path.

"Oi! Wait up!" Sakura called after her as she picked up the towel. "I really need to talk to you."

"I'm not in the mood to talk."

"I'm serious," said the pink-haired girl as she finally caught up with the other teen and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"I already told you I don't want to-" Something suddenly seemed to have caught her attention. Unexpectedly, she quickly slipped past Sakura and continued hurrying off, leaving her bemused cabinmate behind.

"What just happened?" Sakura thought out loud, turning towards the source of Karin's distraction. There, to no surprise, was Naruto, Suigetsu and… Yeah, and they obviously just came back from a little swim… It wasn't like she hadn't gone swimming with Naruto (and Sasuke) before. Or seen Suigetsu compete during intra-school sports events. I mean, she'd seen them half-naked before. Perhaps Ino _was_ right about Karin.

"Oi! Sakura-chan!" called out Naruto, cheerfully waving at her.

She gave a small smile and waved but didn't stay too long. She quickly turned on her heel and made her way to her own cabin.

"Still mad at Sasuke?" asked Suigetsu.

"Yup, why shouldn't she be?" Naruto stated matter-of-factly.

The star swimmer gave a laugh, somewhat amused. "Still mad over that wall-climbing thing?"

"Nah," replied the blond boy. "Since the debate."

"Over that?"

"I'm right here you know," Sasuke spoke up.

"It would help if Sasuke would just stop being such a bitch," said Naruto.

"Did you just call me a bitch?"

"Sasuke's always been that obnoxious," explained the blond boy.

"Understandable," replied Suigetsu.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Anyways, Sasuke here wants to apologize but doesn't have the guts for it."

"Stop making things up." The dark-haired teen marched off ahead.

"Defensive," Naruto taunted, though Sasuke had already disappeared down the bend.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Wrote some of these parts during the Research Hell Contest… I missed a couple of weeks of school for that research crap?! Sheesh, and when I could finally get my hands on my pc, the internet in our island went out for a few days. What the hell?! And to think that, afterwards, I lagged on for a couple of weeks… after getting pulled out of class for almost a month, we had all these make-up tests and all that crap so I never got the time to type in what I already wrote… Anyways, finally, here I go!

**Side notes:** (1) _Forgive and forget_ is such a famous saying nowadays. But, is it really the right thing to do? I heard once that you should forgive, but not forget. Otherwise, how can you learn from the mistake that that friend/acquaintance has done? How can you prevent yourself from committing the same mistake? Think about it.

(2) How 'bout lists? I certainly have one, since I've been a hateful person lately. Down with Horsie!!! Mwahahahaha!

(3) Nosebleed fiction! Do you know that you shouldn't hold your head back? Bend forward a bit so the blood can flow freely and all that jazz. That's what I read in my mom's medical book. Now you know!

(4) Who wants to see Sasuke half-naked? Meh! MANGA SPOILER: Of course, I already have, along with Naruto, Sai and Suigetsu. Actually, more so for Suigetsu coz of his full body naked scene haha… I bet they'll censor that and that Sasuke-on-Sai action in the anime. Or cut it out entirely… lol…

(5) Noticed how Sakura barely acknowledged Sasuke's presence? Ever acted like that? As if someone never existed? Have you just passed by that person in the lobby or in a public area like a mall and just move your eyes past them like they weren't there? I'm a bit of an expert in that and there are currently two people who don't exist in the same plane as I do. I wouldn't even move when they approach. I keep on moving forward 'til they move out of my way. I don't even speak to them even if they're on my team unless I give out orders lol. Sounds harsh? Tell me 'bout it. **EDIT:** The number has now been reduced to one. I'll probably start cosplaying with the other one by the end of this year lol. The little misunderstanding was fixed up without anyone else realizing what was happening.

**Next time:**

"_Don't encourage her," Sakura warned Hinata. "She'll just get more excited when she deploys her evil little plan later."_

"_Whatever!" exclaimed Ino, confidently strolling past. Her plan ought to work._


	9. Entry 8: Dinner

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 8 – Dinner**

**DAY 2**

**Cabin G5 1645**

"Where have you been?!" Ino chided when the pink-haired girl tried sneaking back into the cabin.

"Nowhere," answered the pink-haired girl. "I just went to talk to Karin, that's all."

"You what?!"

"It's nothing," insisted the other, slightly annoyed by her friend's behavior. She slid into the cabin past Ino and sat on her bunk bed.

The blonde rolled her eyes as she was about to close the door. She spotted Sai on the doorsteps of B5 right across from them, and for a moment, their eyes met before his returned to the art canvas on his lap. Those eyes seemed… so cold…

Ino slammed the door and laid her back against it, as if she were afraid that cold stony gaze would follow her in.

"Ino, are you okay?" inquired Sakura.

"I'm fine," replied the other girl haughtily, as if Sakura's concern annoyed her. "In fact, I'm great." She got up on her bunk and closed the curtain.

Her two cabinmates looked at each other worriedly. What was that about?

After a few minutes, the curtain around Ino's bunk bed drew open, and the blonde practically jumped to the floor. "Tadaa, how's this?" she asked, looking cheerful now.

"What?" Sakura asked from her own bunk, a book on her lap.

Ino slipped into a pair of tall neon purple wedges and made a full 360 turn. "I mean, my outfit," she pointed out. She wore a white and violet striped tube top and a black jean mini skirt.

"You look great," Hinata replied, for lack of anything better to say.

"Don't encourage her," Sakura warned the dark-haired girl. "She'll just get more excited when she deploys her evil little plan later."

"Whatever!" exclaimed Ino, confidently strolling past.

"What are you scheming, you imp?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," replied the blonde, pushing her chin up. She made her way to the door. "Let's get some dinner, shall we?"

The two got up and followed their friend out, just in time to see the three dripping boys of B5 approach their cabin.

"Hey!" Naruto called out with a wave.

Hinata's face resembled a tomato as she waved back sheepishly before turning on her heels and practically making a mad dash for it.

Sakura gave a small wave and smile before grabbing the sashaying Ino by the wrist and dragging her along as fast as she could. She didn't care if she ruined the blonde's chance to get on her ex's nerves. She just wanted to get away.

"She's always running away, isn't she?" Suigetsu asked.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked. "Yeah, now that you mention it, she's always running off when I'm around. Back in school, anyway. Now-"

"I meant Sakura."

"Her? Sasuke scared her away," Naruto said, accusing Sasuke face to face, a childish pout on his face.

Sasuke gave him a why-the-hell-should-I-care look before heading into their cabin.

"What did Sasuke do now?" Sai asked from the doorstep.

"Exist?" Naruto suggested unhelpfully. He plopped down on his wet behind just beside Sai. "About you and –" He paused, editing what he planned to say. "You okay?"

"Never better," Sai replied with a smile.

The blond boy looked at him suspiciously. "I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want, Naruto-kun," replied the dark-haired boy before heading indoors, leaving the canvas beside the door.

The two guys left grabbed it and took a peek.

"It's empty," observed Naruto.

"It has a white wash on it," Suigestu pointed out. It did. But it seemed so light it didn't really matter if there was one. It was still empty. "Maybe he hasn't gotten to painting over it."

"Don't think so." He replaced it beside the door. "I think we should go change… I'm hungry."

**Cooperative Building 1730 **

The student population was evidently divided during dinnertime. There was no particular side for each team, but the girls sat separately from the boys, and they all ignored each other. The teachers somehow managed to keep united. They sat together and observed the students. They sensed trouble looming ahead.

Earlier during breakfast, such tension had not been evident; they came and went as they pleased. The food had been served as early as 6 am. With 4 hours to spend on breakfast, any conflict had not been observed.

Lunch was spent with the respective tour groups. If you think about it, it had been relatively quiet meal. No one had spoken to anyone across the table. That should've already been an indication.

Sakura picked at her food. She and Ino had an excuse to be upset over the whole thing. They practically rode the center of storm. And it wasn't a smooth ride. Everyone else? It wasn't their fight, was it? But did Sakura and Ino _really_ have a reason?

Ino ate with her chin up and managed to act as if she had no problem eating. If there was a queen of denial, it would be an Ino. The very person who would most likely suffer a bad case of stiff neck? It would be Ino. Sure, she was mad that Sakura ruined her little act, so she wanted to make it clear that she was mad.

Hinata was obviously and suspiciously acting a lot more cheerfully, as if trying to lighten up the mood. She had been acting extra helpful recently. Maybe some more of this commotion could totally bring her out of her shell, not that I'm suggesting anything.

Dinner would've gone by as uneventfully as lunch had, but it didn't end that way. Apparently, sparks flew between two adjacent tables, and a fight broke out. The girls yelled at the boys, calling them 'retards' and 'insensitive jerks', while the boys continued egging them on, taunting them and making faces.

The childish squabbles led Sakura to feel as if she were back in elementary school again, and she hated it. She grabbed her unfinished meal and left the table. Dinner was over for her.

"Oi, Sakura, wait up," Ino called after her, picking up her barely touched food and following after her.

"Look, I'm sick of all of this," the pink-haired girl replied. "Everyone's just making it worse."

She turned and walked off, her attention elsewhere, perhaps somewhere in the clouds, wandering around lost and confused. Better there than here. Frickin' elementary kids.

And that was how she bumped into someone, spilling her half-finished dinner all over that said someone. She gasped in surprise, snapping out of whatever spell that had overcome her. "My bad," she muttered, slapping a hand across her face. She looked up and felt her blood run cold – she had just bumped into _him_.

Sasuke merely stared back with the usual cold look on his face. For a quick moment, she wondered if he noticed that he had leftovers smeared all over him, or if she should tell him about it.

All of a sudden, like her dashing knight in white armor, Naruto arrived in the nick of time and said, "Hey Sakura-chan!" with the usual big goofy grin of his. "You know, Sasuke has something to say to you, don't you, Sasuke?" Or maybe he was that horrible warty toad.

"Yeah," replied the dark-haired boy, looking at his stained shirt and wiping some of the messy grime off it. "Do you even look where you're going?"

Sakura lost it. Before she realized what she was doing, she had already thrust the remaining contents of her food at him. "Arrogant jerk!" she shouted, her brain not quite connecting with her mouth.

She stormed off, leaving her audience bewildered. Ino ran after her, shoving her own tray on someone's table. The feuding tables followed the pink-haired girl's cue, and food started flying. The food fight was contagious and spread like wildfire. Soon, everyone was scrambling for the next plate or under tables for shelter. The teachers tried hard to keep order, but they easily became sitting ducks.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted in an accusatory tone. "You were supposed to apologize!"

"I wasn't _supposed_ to do anything," the other snapped in reply, probably forgetting what a mess he already was. He walked off, ignoring the mayhem around him.

Naruto was about to throw another retort at him, but someone's bagel hit him squarely on the side of his head and managed to shut him up. He fell on all fours and made his way crawling outta there, grumbling about Sasuke and screwing up and how he now officially hated bagels.

…

"Let's get out of here!" demanded Karin from under one of the tables.

"Nah, this is too much fun!" replied Kin, throwing a handful of indistinguishable crap at the nearest person, regardless of gender. She had a paisley leaf in her hair, but Karin didn't care enough to point it out.

Tayuya sat nearby, arms crossed and scowling, as if daring anyone to challenge her. She hissed at and poised to attack anyone who even thought about aiming at her.

"Anou…"

"What?!" Karin barked. It was that Hinata girl, crouching under the table right beside her. "Whaddya want?!"

"Uh… did you want to leave… I mean, we could-"

"No thank you," snapped the cardinal-haired girl. "I don't need you to get all nicey-nice with me."

"Oh, okay." The other girl retreated.

Amidst the ruckus, a shrill whistle was heard and the principal's booming voice demanded for everyone to stop and shut up.

Karin panicked and crawled after the raven-haired girl. "So, uh, do you still know how to get out of here?"

**Cooperative Building 1800 **

"We will get to the bottom of this!" Tsunade demanded in front of the whole student body. Every single student and teacher shuddered from the sheer volume of her voice.

She was not going to let them go without a sermon.

"Or better yet, we will set some ground rules to prevent any more of this from happening. I will not tolerate any more of this nonsense! Do you get me?!" When no one responded, she shouted even louder. "Do you get me?!"

The crowd replied with a mixture of 'Yes ma'am', 'We get you, ma'am' and 'Understood'.

"So clean up!" she ordered. "And get some shuteye, coz you'll be needing it. Grand Assembly tomorrow at 6!"

Everyone, and I mean everyone, had to clean that night. Even the teachers joined in. And yes, even the girls of G5, who were not found in the scene of the crime, had to participate.

Sakura felt relieved that people's minds had now focused elsewhere, preferably on the junk they were cleaning off the tables and chairs, most of which they could not distinguish half the time. Ino whined as she cleaned nearby, most likely from the fact that she was wearing clothes that were totally inappropriate for cleaning duties.

They cleaned for a few hours until the teachers got tired and felt genuinely sorry for them. They dismissed them, and they all retired for bed.

**Cabin B5 2200**

"What is this anyway? Curry?" Naruto asked, licking the collar of his shirt.

"Damn, I'm sooo tired," whined Suigetsu as he lazily climbed to his second-level bunk. By time he climbed in, he was already unconscious, wheezing.

"Called it," Sasuke said, claiming the bathroom.

"What?!" Naruto shouted at him. "You still have enough energy to take a bath?"

"He _did_ cause the food fight after all," Sai pointed out.

"So much for apologizing," mumbled Naruto as he sprawled himself on his bed, the one under Suigetsu's.

"I already told you that I had no plan to apologize," Sasuke exclaimed before slamming the door.

The blond boy rolled his eyes and crawled into his bunk, just in time to see Sai bringing in the empty canvas.

"Oi, Sai," he said, "what's that for?"

"This? Nothing… I guess," answered the ebony-haired boy with a shrug.

"Seemed like it. So, did you, uh, lose your inspiration or some thing?" Naruto asked, bracing himself for a reprimand or something.

"Maybe."

Before Naruto could think more about it, he fell asleep, his shoes on and the dirty clothes forgotten.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Who would've thoughtthat periodic exams could be so inspiring? Sigh. Most of this was written during the last week of school. Unfortunately, I was too busy reading Death Note to type this up… Oh, _Light_-sama… Uh? Did I just say that out loud? Lolbelated Merry Christmas, minna! Christmas is also to blame lol. I got too lazy with my tummy full.

**Side notes:** (1) I don't adore food fights. In fact, I hate them. All the wasted food.

(2) Ever slept with your full get-up on? I have! I was in full school uniform! Black shoes and all! That was during the research fiasco when we had to sleep over in our school. Our research teacher told me to catch a nap. And I thought he'd wake me up when he had something for me to work on, but he didn't and I woke up at 6 am, when one of our teachers had already arrived for that school day. Didn't go to school that day. Worked on that paper. Until morning of the next day… and the same for _that_ day. And that went on for a bout three or four days before the research contest… it was hell… sob…

**Next time:**

"_You gotta see this, Naruto-kun," said the upperclassman. With the other hand, he showed Naruto a big dark Hercules beetle. He winked and gently placed it on the shoulder of an unsuspecting girl. "Watch."_


	10. Entry 9: Tricks

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 9 – Tricks**

**DAY 3**

**Cabin B5 0530**

"Hey, wake up, sleepyhead!"

Naruto half-consciously felt someone poke his head a few times.

"Give it up." Sounded like Sasuke. "Let's go. We don't even have time to grab some breakfast before the assembly."

"Oi, Naruto, wake up." It was Suigetsu again, poking his head… again.

Naruto's eyes peeled open slowly. He blinked a few times. What time is it anyway? The blinking digital clock hanging above his head read 5:32 am. Wait, wasn't the meeting with Tsunade at 6-

"Whoa!" he yelled as he scrambled to his feet, falling to the floor. "Why didn't you guys wake me up?!" he demanded, wincing from the newly acquired bump on his head.

"We wanted to see you panic," Sasuke said coolly from his own bunk across from Naruto's. "Tick tock," he added, giving Naruto the perfect view of the time on his wristwatch.

"Oh, damn!" muttered their blond friend as he dashed into the bathroom and started the shower.

"Close the door, will ya!" laughed Suigetsu.

"You know, Naruto-kun," started Sasuke, leaning beside the open bathroom door, "the girls in the cabin across from ours have a perfect view through our bathroom door." He dodged a spray of water from the mobile showerhead.

Suigetsu laughed even louder. Their front door was closed.

…

**Picnic Tables 0550 **

"Knew you guys would be late."

"Can it, Shikamaru," Sasuke replied icily as he and his cabinmates approached, "someone took half an hour in the bath."

"I needed my bath time!" argued Suigetsu.

Naruto plopped down on the bench as he continued tying his shoelaces. "And you guys had no plan to wake me up, did you?" His blond hair was still wet, dripping on his face and down the back of his head, soaking the blue hood on his back.

Chouji, Shikamaru's big friend, started dishing out buns, rolls and other pastries wrapped in plastic wrap.

"We figured you'd need these," Shikamaru said. He nodded towards the long line running down the length of the counters. "No way you'd make it in time for the assembly if you had to buy breakfast, would ya?"

"Better eat up," Chouji said, digging through a bag of chips.

"What'll we do without you?" Naruto asked thankfully as he munched on a pork bun. His cabinmates took some of the goodies and started eating too.

"Yeah, you can pay for those," Shikamaru said, getting up from the bench. "We better go. Tsunade will fry us if we don't get there in time."

"Hey, have guys noticed how awful this place looks?" Suigetsu asked as they were leaving. The ground was still littered with the remnants of last night's food fight, and they were starting to stink.

"Don't remind us," Sasuke said, walking on ahead of them.

"Awesome food fight though," remarked the aqua-haired boy, giving the eating area a last glance before following after his friends.

…

**The Field 0600 **

Tsunade laid the ground rules and their corresponding consequences rather heavily. She was harsh and was extremely cautious in making sure that she nailed every single one of those hooligans with her deadly glares.

Sure, they had all experienced such similar tirades before. But that did not mean that they were immune from flinching with every inflection of her voice. It was doubtful though, that her words did register in the students' heads, but one thing was for certain: they were doubly scared of her now.

She took about an hour, but by the time she was through, a collective exhale emanated from her audience, as if they hadn't taken a single breath since they saw her. She marched off the stage and was gone.

The crowd was noisy now, since the terror principal had gone out of earshot. Some of the teachers started shouting out instructions on where to go for their "formal" classes, but no one seemed to notice.

"Let's go," suggested Shikamaru. "I'd rather not stick around for the stampede or whatever it'll be this time."

The others followed after him, weaving through the crowd and very much aware of the impending riot just waiting around the corner.

Suddenly, Naruto bumped into someone. He recognized him as an upperclassman, a blond-haired senior with sharp blue green eyes. "Uh, gomen, Sempai," stammered Naruto. "Uh, a bit crowded isn't it?" He was suddenly aware of the other seniors around him.

The blond senior smiled impishly, holding up a finger over his mouth. "Let's keep this a secret, ne?" he said.

The other guys snickered behind him.

He swiped at them excitedly, trying to make them shut up. "You gotta see this, Naruto-kun," he said. With the other hand, he showed Naruto a big dark Hercules beetle.

"Whoa, cool," the younger blond said, amazed by the big bug. "What's it for?"

The upperclassman winked and gently placed it on the shoulder of an unsuspecting girl. The girl was a sophomore with shoulder-length brown hair with pink streaks running through it. She was chatting with a few other girls. "Watch," the blond sempai said as he and his friends started pulling Naruto a few steps back.

Naruto could only stare blankly at the huge insect. Huge bug plus giddy girls equals drama… BIG DRAMA.

"Hey, Chi-chan?" one of the girls, a pretty brunette with big round glasses, asked the unsuspecting victim as she gaped at the big black spot on her friend's shoulder. "What's that?"

"Eh?" the girl asked, clueless.

A girl with brown bobbed hair merely shrugged and said, "It's a bug."

Chi looked at the bug for a second before realization sunk in. "Get it off me!!!" she shouted in between shrieks.

It was instant chaos. She and her friends started shrieking and jumping and doing particularly nothing to get the bug off. A domino effect was observed: girls around them started freaking out as well, having no idea of what was happening, while boys entertained themselves by laughing up a storm and doing unflattering imitations of the girls.

The culprits behind Naruto laughed, tickled pink. They were having a ball. He, on the other hand, merely gaped at the scene. It was Shikamaru who found him and dragged him away.

…

**Old Port 0730 **

"And you just stared at them?" Chouji asked between chomps.

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" Naruto whined.

"Oh, man!" griped Suigetsu. "I should've seen that! The drama!"

"I have no idea why you're so interested in those things," Shikamaru remarked. "Other than Naruto, in fact, I haven't met anyone whose happiness is as shallow."

"That's me," replied the aquamarine-haired boy, kicking at the water like a little kid, "Shallow Suigetsu."

The group of boys had gathered at the port, waiting for their 8 o'clock classes, which they would be taking together. Shikamaru lay on his back, staring at the sparse clouds littering the sky. Suigetsu had his shoes off, dipping his feet in the warm lake water. As expected, Chouji was happily munching on a hotdog sandwich. Sai was scribbling something on a small notebook. Sasuke was skipping rocks and throwing a few at them at the back of Naruto's head every time he started whining. And Naruto was sitting on the edge of the port, just ranting and worrying about the moral fragility of the relationships between his friends, both girls and boys, and blah blah blah… The usual.

"What'll happen if there'll be a full blown war?!" Naruto whined all of a sudden.

"I'll be watching the fireworks then!" remarked Suigetsu.

"If that's the case," Shikamaru said, sitting up, "I'll be heading for cover."

Suddenly they were generally surprised to hear some loud yells coming from nearby.

"Speaking of fireworks," Suigetsu said, kicking water off his feet before shoving on his shoes and running for the source of the ruckus. The others reluctantly followed after him, some more reluctant than others.

Further up the path, they found Kiba and Kankurou shouting and cussing about something.

"Oi! What's up?!" Suigetsu asked as he approached.

"They dumped this sticky goop on us," Kiba complained, trying to scratch off the said sticky substance on his shirt.

"Who did what?" Naruto asked as he came running up to them.

"A couple of your batchmates," Kankurou said, glaring at the goo on his sleeve as if that would help remove it.

"Tayuya and Kin," Kiba stated.

"Smells sweet," Naruto said, sniffing the goop he'd wiped off them with his hand.

"Them?" Shikamaru asked, snickering. "Whaddya do? Called them pretty?"

"Uh…" Kiba offered.

"Tastes waxy," Naruto said, letting his tongue out.

Sasuke gave him a good whack on the head and said, "You don't what that is, and you just stick it in your mouth?"

"Sowy, mommy," replied the blond, putting the finger in his mouth again. "Tastes familiar."

"No, we didn't call them pretty," Kankurou finally said. "Whaddya think we are?"

"We were passing by," insisted Kiba.

"And?" Chouji asked, quite aware of something else.

Kiba shrugged, attempting innocence. "Actually, uh… it was Kankurou's fault!" He pointed an accusatory finger at his friend.

"What?!" yelled the other.

"We were on our way to the next class! And they were here, and Kankurou here said move, and they started arguing-"

"And you told them to buzz off-"

"And I told them to buzz off- and hey! Stop putting words in my mouth! Anyway! It was all his fault!"

"What?! As if you weren't there, mouthing them off!"

"Aha!" exclaimed Naruto. "I recognize that taste!"

"Naruto, stop eating that gunk!" reprimanded Shikamaru.

"It's honey!"

"Honey? Yeah, right!" Kiba said, pulling off something from his shirt. It was white, waxy and had hexagonal shapes on it. "_Right_…"

"Unprocessed honey?" Sasuke asked. "You mean, they got you with honey straight from the hive?"

"And the bees?" Sai asked.

"Now that you think about it…" Kankurou started. "Didn't the girls smell like smoke?"

"So they just smoked the hive and grabbed the honey? That's rich," remarked Kiba.

"Yeow!" exclaimed Suigetsu, swatting something on his neck. "What the-?!" On the palm of his hand was the remains of a squished bee. "Oh, I think they're waking up."

"What're you talking-" Kiba was cut off by a buzzing sound in front of his face. He gaped at the fuzzy yellow-and-black insect floating in front of his nose. He swiped madly at it, imagining dozens more surrounding him. "Oh, damn it, let's get outta here!"

He bolted down the path, the rest of the guys following after him, the buzzing sound haunting their ears. Maybe they were there. Maybe they weren't. Whatever the case, Kankurou was not too far behind his behoneyed cabinmate, convinced that the bees were after them.

By the time they ran up to their cabin, B4, the rest of their friends had slowed down to a jog, staring in amazement as their panic-ridden friends pushed and scrambled over each other to get inside.

"Don't you two think we've outrun them by now?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah," Naruto added, "there isn't a single bee around."

"Who the hell cares?!" Kankurou yelled back, wrestling over the doorknob with Kiba. "I'm not taking any chan- Oof!" They finally managed to open to the door and fall on top of each other.

"Hey, what's up?" They turned to see Kin and Tayuya standing on the other side of the path. The former had an amused smirk on her face while the latter looked at them disapprovingly, as if she thought of them as failures at being men. "Did the bees ask for their honey back?" asked the ebony-haired girl.

"Shut up, Kin!" Kiba shouted at her.

"Oh, did I make the baby mad?" she asked, making baby faces at them.

"I can't believe you guys started running like that," Tayuya remarked. "Wait, that _was_ believable enough, since you two are a couple of girly girls!"

"Shut it, dogface!" Kankurou shouted back, scrambling to his feet and nearly kicking Kiba in the face.

"Make me, mountain boar!"

"I will, potato sack!"

Kin rolled her eyes. Now that she was out of the picture, it got boring. "Why don't you guys run in and lock the doors before the bees come?!"

"You're in way over your head, porker!" continued Tayuya, ignoring her companion.

"Who are you calling porker, fatty?!" railed Kankurou.

"Would you guys shut up?!" Kiba suddenly shouted.

"Why don't _you_ shut up?!" yelled the arguing duo.

Kiba slammed the door in front of Kankurou's face, ending the fight.

"What a waste of time!" Kin complained.

"Later, losers," said Tayuya as she stomped off huffily, Kin following after her.

Naruto stuck his tongue out their backs but didn't dare say a word. They were scary girls.

"I'm so glad they're finally gone," he said.

"Don't get too excited," Sai said.

"We have classes with them next," added Sasuke.

"Eh?! Whaddya mean-?!"

"Hey, we're late," Shikamaru cut in. "Let's go!"

"Classes are at 8!" Suigetsu shouted at B4 as he followed after the group. "Don't forget to change clothes too!"

**END OF CHAPTER**

…

**Author's note: **'Kay, for some reason, I wrote this chapter real fast (just didn't type it). Yehey me! BTW I have this new fic, _Small Fish, Big Pond_, and its Chapter 1 is going along slowly, so the update will be late. Thankies.

**Side notes:** (1) Intimidation works better than rules in Tsunade's case. Just works that way.

(2) We had this white mouse pet back in elementary school, and there were girls who'd freak out when we bring it to them. I just loved their reactions! Though I am a girl, I have no problem handling mice (except I used to be afraid I might break the micey's tail) or beetles. In fact, I adore beetles! I hate it though when mice or beetles pee or poo on me. It's annoying! And yeah, I have friends who hate beetles. Why oh why?! They're so cute! Except the spiky ones; their spikes hurt!

(3) The bee scene seems extremely unlikely. It's fictional and really weird. I made it up. Period.

**Next time:**

"_Where were you anyway?" Kin asked Karin in an exaggerated manner. "You should've seen it!"_

"_Oh, I was up to something," Karin said, smirking._


	11. Entry 10: Wet 'n' Wild

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls** by **Fang Shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary:** Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 10 – Wet 'n' Wild**

**DAY 3**

**Vegetable garden 0800**

"You should've seen them running as if their pants were on fire!"

Temari's attention was instantly attracted by the mention of her brother's name. Well, she wasn't actually eavesdropping per se. She just happened to have had heard his name and tuned in from there. Okay, so it was every bit like eavesdropping. Who the hell cares anyway?!

She nodded her head absentmindedly at her friends, as if she were listening to their conversation. Man, she would pay to have seen that. Served Kankurou right. For someone who was so cocky, his bark was way worse than his bite.

"Did the guys really get chased by bees?" Ino suddenly asked in her low gossipy voice. Okaaaay, so she had been eavesdropping too. Not that surprising though.

"They were covered in honey, weren't they?" Hinata asked just as quietly. Wait, her too?! "I hope they're okay."

"I hope they got stung," Tenten said, a bit sadistically. Okay, has _anyone_ been conversing at all?!

"Let's not bother with it," Sakura asked, exasperated. At least she didn't seem to care. So does that mean that she had been paying attention to the conversation, if there had been one?

Temari shook her head in disbelief. She could just imagine what they all looked like, nodding their heads absentmindedly while no one bothered to talk as they eavesdropped, all pretending to converse when in fact there had been no conversation to speak of. She bet that Neji and Lee, the only boys who were already there on time, must've noticed their suspicious behavior. How lovely.

"Don't mind them," Sakura added. "They might be exaggerating." That was the end of that.

Their previous conversation, from whence ever it had gone, commenced, but for someone who didn't care for it, Sakura suddenly became attentive to the other group's discussion.

"And they're supposed to be guys," she heard Tayuya remark.

"Where were you anyway?" Kin asked Karin in an exaggerated manner. "You should've seen it!"

"Oh, I was up to something," Karin said, smirking.

That sounded very suspicious. Sakura couldn't get any more out of eavesdropping, because when the boys came, the three girls started snickering amongst themselves, their previous conversation gone with the wind.

"We're here!" Naruto shouted as they ran into the garden.

"About time!" the teacher in charge, Yamato, said with the usual good-natured smile on his face as he stepped out of the garden shed. "Everyone, get in," he said, motioning for them to enter, "Let's start the lessons."

"In a shed?" Kin muttered, obviously irked.

As the students started following after their teacher, Sakura hung back a bit and got in step with Naruto just as he was about to enter. "Hey, you better be cautious around Karin. She's up to something."

"Figures," he replied tiredly, dragging his feet. "Man, I'm sick of this. All the silly tricks and the rest of this crap."

"Me too. Uh… be careful then." She slipped into the back of her group, leaving him with his. Great, she had started a rift between boys and girls, regardless of Sasuke's participation. She'd hate to be caught in the crossfire.

…

By the time Yamato finished showing them the tools and their uses and assigned them to groups of four, appointing each team to a garden plot, total dissatisfaction settled in.

For some reason, Sasuke and Sakura were on the same group with Shikamaru and Temari, Sai and Ino were together in another, Suigetsu and Karin in one, and Naruto lucked out, getting Hinata on his, but had to suffer through the flying sparks between Tenten and Neji.

They suspected intervention from above (like, say, Kakashi and others who knew about their conflicts; meanwhile, Karin was convinced that the gods were out to get her), but Yamato claimed that it was for _getting to know each other_, which they all doubted.

Ino had started a commotion just before they started the work, claiming that she wasn't dressed right. She was wearing a lavender spaghetti-strapped top, a black ruffled miniskirt and a pair of white heeled boots. Definitely not appropriate.

"Why? Didn't you check your class schedule for today?" Tayuya asked gruffly. As Ino's teammate, she was unsympathetic. She was also properly dressed in dark cargo pants, gray shirt, well-worn work boots and a black ethnic-design bandanna around her head.

Ino pouted in annoyance. Yeah, she _did_ check. In fact, she had dressed just so for that class. Though she had disillusions of a sophisticated garden setting with all the gorgeous flowers and cute gazebos and vine-covered arches… okay… so that was a bit far-fetched… and Sai didn't even look her way even once! The nerve!

Yamato finally got her a stool, so she didn't need to squat or any of that. But it was still hard unglamorous manual labor.

After a while, Yamato disappeared, leaving them with the gardening and _getting to know each other_.

The garden was quiet for a while, everyone unusually industrious. By the time the tension eased up a bit in team NaruHinaNejiTenten, Naruto and Hinata were able to talk with each other. But the rest of the quiet didn't last long.

"Hey, that's not finished yet," Temari said pointedly all of a sudden.

"Of course it is, Madame President," insisted Shikamaru. "I turned the soil evenly for my entire section."

"You call that even? Do it over."

"It's done."

Sakura groaned in disbelief as her two teammates glared daggers at each other. Not only was she stuck in the same team with Sasuke, she had to deal with the heated rivalry between the other two. She doubted that having Shikamaru and Temari together in one team was intentional, since their apparent animosity was just recently acquired. She'd never seen two people with such strong opinions on the topic, and they were dueling it out not too far from her.

What was more confusing was the fact that Sasuke had not tried anything to spite her yet. In fact, he had been extremely cooperative in the very least. He was positioned on the other side of the plot, far away from her and behaving properly as he did his work.

Suddenly, he glanced up, meeting her gaze. She was quick to turn away.

_He'll just keep on annoying you if you mind him_, she reminded herself.

Her spade suddenly hit a rock, causing her to drop it in surprise. As she was about to pick it up, she was surprised to see a sort of wriggling motion under it. It was a worm. A big squishy, wriggly worm.

She had nothing against the caecilian, and she was certainly not afraid of it, but the thought of its slimy surface against her skin made her shiver. It would be too gross…

She quickly glanced at Sasuke to check for any visible reaction. None. He was busy on his work, his concentration evident on his knitted brows. It was gardening for crying out loud. Why'd he have to take it _that_ seriously? And, damn, she was starting to get too paranoid.

She turned towards the adjacent plot and caught Ino's attention. The blonde made a gagging picture as if she were being strangled dead. The two giggled quietly to themselves, enjoying the first light moment in a long while.

"Oh, shit! Get it off me!" Karin suddenly shrieked, flailing about angrily as she fell back on her bottom.

Suigetsu's snickering could be heard despite her screaming.

"You put that thing on my head!" she accused him as everyone stared at them. She vigorously clawed through her hair with one hand, desperately trying to get off whatever hideous creepy crawly might have still remained in her hair.

"What? I did not!" The aquamarine-haired boy was smiling despite his claim. "I just said, 'Hey Karin, I think there's a cricket on your head', and you just freaked out."

"Well, who else could have?!"

"I'm on the other side! Sheesh, you think I can reach you?"

"You can't?!" she shouted, her face a dark red as she jumped to her feet. "But I can!" she ran around the plot to his side. He then bolted, the enraged girl chasing after him.

"I didn't do it!" he shouted, more amused than afraid.

Their group mates, Kin and Chouji, stared after them. The former suddenly started laughing loudly as they watched the two run around the shed and back, while the latter solemnly returned to his work. The crazy scene provided the others some well-needed entertainment (and distraction), though a few were stubborn enough not to admit it.

Sakura couldn't help laughing too. Absentmindedly, she picked up the spade, only to grab something else – soft, squishy, squirmy – the worm!

She shrieked, practically throwing the poor creature into the air. She frantically wiped her hand on her pants with a fury. She never even expected her own reaction. Ever.

The earthworm flew up and started falling in a less than graceful arch. The poor little thing would've felt the impact of the acceleration due to gravity on it if a hand hadn't caught it in time.

"Sakura, are you afraid of worms?" Sasuke asked stoically with the worm still on his hand, as if handing it to her on purpose.

She wanted to smack him on the head so bad. There wasn't any trace of sarcasm in his voice, but she doubted if his neutral tone wasn't hiding anything.

"No, I'm not," she said snappishly. "I was just surprised." It didn't matter if she didn't get worked up now. He already had something to hold against her… er… or in this case, something to throw at her.

"Whatever," he remarked. For a second, she was sure he would throw the worm at her. Thankfully, he replaced the worm on the ground without another word.

Sakura could feel all eyes on her. Another spat with the other faction's 'leader'. The little fight seemed so trivial. If only she hadn't participated in that debate…

"Come on, let's finish this and water the plot already," Temari suddenly said as she got up.

"I thought the soil wasn't turned enough yet," remarked Shikamaru.

"Shut up," she replied, glaring at him. "Just help me get the hose."

"What? You need a guy to do that for you?" he asked, getting up already.

"Never mind! I'll do it myself!" She stomped off.

"Since when have you been such a jerk?" Sakura asked him.

He stopped smirking as he squatted back down again. He had this uncharacteristically serious look on his face. "Since you girls started demanding respect and equality when they already had it."

"We didn't-"

"Haven't you realized what this whole mess is about?"

"But it' not – I – we –" Damn, he had a point. It would really have been better if she had just shut her mouth during that damn debate. Or if she hadn't brought up the topic with Mr. Genius here.

She looked away, defeated. Just because of her stupid personal conflict with Sasuke, she'd pretty much ruined not only her summer, but everyone else's as well. Now she was stuck gardening with Sasuke. What could be worse?

Her question was answered when she suddenly felt what seemed like an abrupt drizzle, making her wet enough to jump to her feet in surprise. "What the?!"

"Oi, Karin! Put the hose down!" Shikamaru shouted.

"I wasn't aiming at you!" the ruby-haired girl shouted back, closing the nozzle. She aimed it at Suigetsu. "You, on the other hand…"

"Pft, you think water'll hurt me?" he scoffed, smirking.

"Of course it will. If I turn the nozzle the whole way."

"Cut it out you too," Tenten said, already approaching them.

"Stop messing with the darn hose already," said Shikamaru, clearly annoyed.

Apparently, everyone had been paying attention and were getting wary of the hose and its wielder.

Karin just rolled her eyes. She didn't care about what they had to say.

Suigetsu smirked at her defiantly. He wasn't scared of her, and that was pissing her off. She opened fire – er – water, but surprisingly, nothing happened. She turned the nozzle. Nothing.

"Enough playing around." She turned to see Temari stepping on the hose. "Now put that down," the sandy-haired girl ordered. "I'm sick of all this horse-playing. Besides, I need to use the hose."

"Fine," the cardinal-haired girl, dropping the garden hose. "But I'm not taking any more of this." She was about to march off when Temari released the hose from her foot, sending a surge of water through it and causing it writhe in the air and spray pretty much everyone.

By the time Temari shut off the hose, everyone, especially Karin, was soaked to a certain degree. The redhead had left the nozzle open, not considering that _that_ might happen.

Who knows what could've happened if Yamato hadn't arrived. Most of them looked as if they were ready to pounce on each other, and they were all wet to boot. Temari didn't seem to have gotten wet, but she looked like she needed some calming down. Despite the overall atmosphere, their sensei couldn't help but burst out laughing.

With him here, the students unanimously and silently decided to save their argument for later as opposed to openly quarreling in front of a teacher. Yamato then dismissed them then and there to prevent any further chaos.

The students rushed off almost immediately, anxious to get away from each other.

…

"Suigetsu, what was that about?" Sasuke asked gruffly as they approached their cabin. The upper half of his shirt was soaked, and his hair was dripping wet.

"You didn't put that bug on her head, did you?" asked Naruto, squeezing his damp t-shirt's hem.

"Of course not," the aquamarine-haired boy said in what could only be identified as mock innocence. He was heavily soaked.

"Let me guess," said Sai, the driest one in the group, "there wasn't a cricket to begin with."

Suigetsu just laughed and gave them his usual grin, which really didn't indicate anything. He entered the cabin ahead of them, as they stared after him. He was one hard nut to crack for someone who didn't keep much to himself.

"What're you waiting for?" he called out to them from inside when he noticed their hesitation. "Next class is in 15!"

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note:** 'Kay, lame chappie, I know… BTW Sorry for the late update. Would've updated sooner but I was too busy reading _Akuma de Sourou_ (which literally means _The Devil Does Exist_; OMG this manga is too awesome and Takeru-kun is way too hoooooooot… it's a romantic comedy shoujo manga, a genre of manga which for some reason I seem to be reading a lot lately, when I used to be strictly shounen-manga-obsessed; but on the brighter note, the guys are more bishie in shoujo XD). Check out its Taiwanese telenovela counterpart, _The Devil Beside You_. I used to hate telenovelas until I watched this one. It's too cute!!! LOLZ. Also, check out my new fic, _Small Fish, Big Pond_, and tell me what you think.

**Side notes:** (1) Back in elementary school, we used to have gardening classes… actually we just turn the soil, do some watering and apply fertilizer… someone else took care of the plants when we didn't have classes lol…

(2) I'm an expert eavesdropper! People don't even mind talking with me around coz it seems I'm never listening when I actually am.

(4) Worms! I feel the same way about them. I appreciate them and all, and I certainly don't think they're any more disgusting than mud itself, but I just don't wanna touch 'em! Shiver!

(5) Everyone got wet! LOL

**Next Time:** A two-chapter Omake or _filler_ chapters. Enjoy!


	12. Entry 10 point 5 Omake

**The Difference Between Boys and Girls**by **fang_shinobi**

**N/A: **Due to my very sad case of **writer's block** and lack of creativity, I've decided to make an **omake** instead. I just couldn't get myself to write the next chapter. I know what I want to happen but there are certain gaps in my story I can't quite fill up yet. So here's a little **filler** for ya. Apologies. I know you'd prefer a new chappy, but I need to work on it. Any suggestions, ideas or inspiration? Is it just me or do I have the graduation blues? Man, just a month away. Maybe it's a side effect. Oh well…

For the meantime, I hope you enjoy this little thing I pulled together. These are pre-DBG scenes, which _may or may not have any influence on the current affairs of the story_. They're all sorta random stuff that came to mind since I wrote them within the same three days. Anyway, they're in chronological order, so they're all in correct order. I think. Till next time (unfortunately, _next week will be an omake_; I will most hopefully try to update with a full chapter afterwards). Ciao.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto not mine. It's Masashi Kishimoto's (disclaimer writing block too…)

**OMAKE #1**

"Behave now, Naruto-kun."

That unbearable pout presented itself on his face again.

"Naruto-kun, please stop making that face. The hosts will be upset if you keep making that face."

He shook his head stubbornly.

"I said-"

The six-year old gulped at the look on his mother's face. She replaced the nice motherly expression for that mad 'Do-I-have-to-spank-you' look she so often wore whenever he did something really bad. Well, he wasn't doing anything he considered to be bad, so why was she making that face?

He gave her a forced smile in defeat. Man, this woman was scary when she got mad.

"Good boy," she said, smiling now, as she gave him a big hug.

She straightened up and patted his head before nudging him out the car door. She followed him out and led him into the stately mansion where the party was being held.

The hosts greeted them warmly, but he couldn't even recognize them even when they insisted that they'd just met a few weeks ago at someone else's party. The boy did not recall any such party he had gone to. In fact, this was the only time his mother ever brought him along to such a gathering. She didn't like going to them herself, and was only forced to when her husband, who was supposed to attend, couldn't make it. Out of courtesy, they couldn't say no to the invitation. The hosts were big clients of her hubby after all. She couldn't leave home without the child either, so she had no choice but to bring him along.

If her expression earlier was anything but pleasant, the current one she was wearing was way worse. It was all stiff and frozen in a smile, like one of those ugly Noh masks he hated so much. He preferred the funnier Kabuki ones with the funny colors.

At one point, he strayed away from his mother while she was busily chatting with a pair of old geezers who had pinched his cheeks red earlier. He never understood what was so amusing about pinching small children's cheeks, so he regarded it as an annoyingly useless habit that people develop when they get despicably old. He therefore silently swore never to grow old.

He wandered aimlessly through the crowd full of oldies and snobby teenagers without garnering much attention. No one seemed to be around his age at all. After all, who'd be crazy enough to bring six-year-old children to such parties?

He found himself in the garden, where another group of musicians played lighter music and where the crowd wasn't quite as packed. He was just looking around when a waiter noticed him and asked him whose child he was and if he was lost.

The boy shook his head profusely and clutched a nearby obaa-san's skirt.

The said old lady was surprised to find the boy clinging to her but surprisingly started to fuss over him like she knew him. The waiter then left, though he quite doubtful.

"Well, boy, do you want to go home with me?" asked the woman, who could easily pass for his grandmother.

Naruto jumped at the question, letting go of her skirt and shaking his head even more so.

"Come on, I'll take good care of you."

Suddenly, just as she was about to grab him, a young woman came up and said, "Obaa-san, are you trying to abduct that boy? For Pete's sake! It's the third time you've tried doing that!" She was all red in the face, badly embarrassed by her grandmother's behavior.

"But the boy has nowhere to go-"

"Obaa-san, let's go." The young woman dragged her elder away in a flurry. "His parents will come find him later!"

The blond boy stared after them in confusion. Do people act like that when they grow old too? Do they snatch other people's children too?

"Hey, you! Boy!" He turned to see the same waiter approaching him, a disbelieving look on his face.

Naruto made a mad dash for it and ran under one of the buffet tables and into the bushes behind it. He crawled through the foliage and emerged on the other side, where a huge tree stood, its large roots forming spacious caverns under it (spacious enough for a boy his age anyway). He crawled into the space and held his breath, waiting for the mean waiter to arrive. A few minutes later two pairs of shoes could be seen from his vantage point as two voices spoke to each other.

"What? You chasing kids around again?" it was lower voice than that waiter's.

"I told you! The kid was lost!" Oh, it was _him_. "Yamamoto-san tried covering for him and tried carrying him off afterwards! What if it wasn't some senile baa-san next time, eh?"

"Uh… well… if that kid could get away that easily, maybe he won't get 'carried off', as you call it."

"Ah! Screw it! The boy disappeared! If he went missing, I'm not gonna be accountable!"

"Who chased him around?"

"Ah, shut up."

The footsteps Naruto heard next seemed to grow farther away with each step. When he couldn't hear anymore noise, he crawled out of his hiding place, only to discover that his clothes were badly soiled. Not that it mattered to him. But if his mom found out…

He walked around some more, wary of the kid-chasing waiter. This part of the garden was deserted. Maybe because of the hedges? If this was behind the bushes back there, then was there more of the garden before him? Could anyone have land this huge? They didn't have that huge of a garden back home. Only one of those pretty traditional gardens with the ponds and carp and the lone sakura tree surrounded by his dad's bonsai and his mom's flowerbeds. How could the owners water this much land? He liked watering plants and all, but the multiple bonsai back at home made watering a major task all on their own. But this garden!

He heard a gentle trickling of water past the nearby bushes. He barreled right through them without as much of a thought and emerged with an even dirtier suit. Man, he just wanted to wash off the dirt, now he had to worry about stitching up the tears. Whatever. What's done is done. Maybe a little bath in the fountain would make his troubles go away, he thought with a naughty grin. He liked playing in water and making a mess in their bathroom. This time though, his mom would never know.

Much to his surprise, the fountain he found was _huge_. It had three levels and water squirted from some edges as if from water guns. It even had a little cherub mounted on top. Pretty fancy.

He leaned over the edge to take a look. Whoa. Pretty deep. He shook his head in disappointment. He hasn't even learned how to swim yet. If he drowned… man, would his mom be mad!

Plop! He turned to see a boy sitting on the other side of the fountain, dropping rocks into the water.

"Hey, you!" Naruto couldn't help shouting at the boy. "Hey! Whatcha doing here?"

The boy turned and looked at him as if he were surprised that his hiding place was invaded. He had pale skin and really black hair. He frowned after seeing the blond boy and said, "Same as you. My dad dragged me here. Then my Nii-san left me back there." He puffed his face in exasperation. "Can't believe them."

"Hey! Hey! You wanna play?"

"What?" The boy looked at him as if he'd just suggested something preposterous.

"I said, 'let's play'!"

"I can't. I'll get dirty."

"What? You scared of a little dirt?"

"Course not!" The other boy jumped to his feet, unable to back down from a challenge.

"My name's Naruto! What's yours?"

"Sasuke. What do you wanna play? I'll beat you anyway!"

"Yeah right! Let's play tag! You're it!"

"You're gonna get it when I catch you!"

And thus began the Naruto-Sasuke rivalry… er friendship…

Later that night, a couple of the guests started a commotion when they couldn't find their six-year-olds. The two boys were later found asleep – and extremely grimy – by the huge fountain. They were never brought to parties like that ever again.

…

"Ohayou!" called out the little girl with the brown permed hair. She wore a cute baby doll dress adorned with lots of ribbons and laces. She had bows in her hair and cute boots on her stockinged feet. Together with his white puppy, Akamaru, the seven-year-old Kiba watched her from the stairs next to the clinic that led to their house upstairs. The girl, apparently also a seven-year-old, had just arrived at their pet clinic to have her dog checked. The canine was a brown and white Scottish terrier with a ribbon on its head.

"Kiba-kun! What are you doing here?!" exclaimed his onee-san, a junior high student, when she found him on her way downstairs.

"Uh, nothing, Hana-neesan!" he said quickly. "I was, uh, waiting for mom."

"Eh?" The girl walked down the staircase a few more steps, stealing a peak at the clinic. "That girl… Eh, you like her, don't you?!"

"No way! Girls are yucky!" he sneered.

"We are not! I mean, don't kid yourself. You like her, don't you?"

"Nah, I just like her dog."

"But you don't like small dogs like that one."

"Well, I like this one! Stop bugging me!"

Hana laughed, ruffling his hair. "Fine, Otouto-kun. Gotta go." She ran down the stairs and out the door.

Akamaru made something that sounded like a whine. "What?" his owner asked defensively. "Don't gimme that nggggh."

For a few weeks, Kiba sat on the staircase every time the girl showed up. Up to the end, he insisted that he didn't like her. Just her dog.

One day though, she brought a different pooch to the clinic.

"Hey, she has different dog now," his sis pointed out when she passed him on her way upstairs.

"I noticed," he replied quietly.

"Well, why are you still watching her?" was Hana's sly question.

"I was wondering where the other dog went."

"Ha! That's a laugh!"

Kiba ignored her and finally ran down the stairs with his puppy following after.

"Hey, what happened to your other dog?" he asked her suddenly, while his mom was examining the new dog, a hairless chihuahua.

"Kiba-kun! We're in the middle of a check-up!" scolded his mom.

"It's okay, Vet-san," said the little girl. "Hey there, my name's Yui. What's your name?"

"Uh, Kiba. What happened to your other dog? The one with the ribbon?"

"Oh, I got sick of him, so I had him given away. You know, you're cute. Wanna go out with me?"

Kiba just glared at her and said, "Eew! Why should I? I don't even like girls!"

He ran off and hid in his room. His sister followed after him, bringing Akamaru with her.

"Eh, so you really did like that dog?" Hana asked from his bedroom door, which he had apparently left open.

"Nope," he replied, lying on the bed and holding Akamaru over his head.

"Eh?"

"But that girl was really mean. Getting rid of her dog. I don't like her."

"Eh, so you did like that girl then?"

The boy ignored her and refused to speak any further. Kiba started picking on girls more often ever since.

…

"Sakura-chan, do you like me?"

"No, of course not!"

"Do you like Sasuke?"

"Yeah, isn't that obvious?"

"Why do you like Sasuke-teme?"

"Coz he's cool, duh."

"But how come you like him and not me?"

"Coz he's cooler than you! Stop asking me stupid questions!"

That pout again. He actually looked kinda cute when he did that. For the annoying eight-year-old Naruto, that was most unexpected.

Ino laughed loudly from beside her. "Nice move, Forehead."

"Shut up, Miss Piggy," replied Sakura as she rolled her eyes and looked past Naruto, returning her gaze to Sasuke, who was supposedly playing tag with a group of kids. Well, yeah, if what he did, in the least chance, looked as if he had voluntarily joined the game. To her surprise, he was heading her way.

"H-hi, Sasu-" Before the two girls could get up to greet him, he suddenly pushed Naruto over, making the blond boy fall flat on his face.

"Sasuke-teme! What was that for?!" shouted the shorter boy, glaring from the playground dirt he was still sprawled on.

"You're it."

"What?"

"I said, '_you're it'_."

"But I'm not even in you're stupid game!"

"I said 'you're it'. If you can't tag anyone just coz you're too slow, just say so."

"I'll show you slow!" Naruto jumped to his feet and charged after Sasuke, hell bent on tagging him back.

Sakura and Ino stared after them, dumbfounded. Sasuke didn't even see them!

…

"Gaara, why do you have to keep following me around?"

"Coz Ji-san said so."

"Yeah, whatever. He couldn't come watch you today, so now me and Temari are stuck watching you. But why can't you follow her instead?!"

"Coz she disappeared."

"I can't believe she just bailed on me like that!"

"I can."

Kankurou groaned in annoyance. Usually, their uncle watched after Gaara while their parents were away, and he and their sister could go do whatever they pleased. He wanted to ask the younger boy to go home, but who'd watch him? Dad was away on business again, and their mom had gone to visit relatives in the country, and her brother was the only one she would count on to do the baby-sitting. She would never leave her baby alone after all. Unfortunately, their uncle wasn't available at the moment. He had a few errands to run, and he couldn't possibly bring the little boy with him. By default, the responsibility fell on the elder children… in this case, Kankurou.

"Where'd that Temari go anyway?!" Kankurou continued his rant.

"School."

"What? What would she be doing in school? It's a Sunday!"

"Council meeting."

"Oh." Their sister was a sixth-grader. A very busy one.

The two arrived at the park, where many other kids were hanging out. Kankuro slumped into a park bench the first chance he got. His brother silently sat beside him.

Tch. Why can't he go watch himself? What was with this kid anyway? So quiet and anti-social. Kankuro tried considering the possibility that the smaller boy could be autistic. But he was too smart to be one, it seems. Maybe it was all the attention Mom gave him.

"Hey, look!"

Kankuro looked up to see a gaggle of high school girls approaching them. They were giggling and looking right at them.

"Huh? What do they want?" he asked. Gaara just yawned absently.

"Oh! So cute!" one of the girls yelled as they went and flocked around Gaara and started pinching his cheeks and stroking his red hair. A couple started taking pictures.

"Hey, how old are you?"

"What's your name, Cutie?"

"Hey, look this way!"

"Smile, Sweetie!"

"Hey, leggo of my brother!" Kankuro shouted at them.

"What, are you jealous or something?" asked one girl, causing her friends to laugh.

"No!" he shouted back, embarrassed. The reason wasn't as much as the attention, but more of the fact that their mom would blow a fuse if she saw Gaara's red face. Hopefully, it'd return to its natural pale color, but what if it didn't?!

He took his brother's hand and pulled him away. No wonder this kid needed a lot of watching!

…

"Tenten, get off the field!"

"No way, coach! I wanna play football!"

"You girls are supposed to be running! Get back to the track oval!"

"Girls don't belong here," Neji pointed out for her.

"You heard him!" hollered the coach.

"But-"

"Track! Now!"

The brunette frowned, gave the ball a last kick, sending it past the inattentive goalie and into the net. She stuck her tongue out at the coach before running off.

"Go, Tenten-chan!" Lee cheered after her.

"Uh, darn kids," grumbled the coach. "'Kay! The rest of you! Get back to the game!"

"Ne, Neji-kun, Tenten-chan is very energetic, don't you think?" Lee asked, dribbling the ball.

"Oi, Lee-" started Neji.

"And she easily kicked the ball in!"

"Lee, the-"

"Ah! How wonderful it is to be so youthf-"

"Lee! Pay attention to the ba-" Before Neji could warn him any further, Lee accidentally stepped on the football and slipped, falling face first into the ground.

"Get the ball! The ball!" roared their overexcited coach.

Neji sighed, taking control of the ball. Ah, middle school.

**END OF OMAKE**

**Author's note: **I've had this for a couple of days now, but I've been delayed, so naturally, this is late. I went home late Sunday night coz we had to practice for our culminating activities (aka dance and talents showdown, including our class's awesome lip synch performance of _High School Musical_'s _Status Quo_ lol). Monday I went home at 11 pm after a hard day's practice. Yesterday, Tuesday, was the well-anticipated Culmi. We were third of all three classes, but we were happy, I suppose (we had fun and our Charleston won first!!! Man, that Charleston music we chose literally sucked the breath out of me lol). Well, now, here it is! Next week (or whenever I can update) will be the second part of the omake. It's just as random (it's already been typed; don't worry). It's all I can think up of for now… Sorry again!

**Side notes:** (1) Naruto-kun's so cute! I think he looks cute at any age and expression, don't you?

(2) I could imagine Naruto's mommy like that. Yes, I know her name and hair color now…

(3) Never bring six-year-olds to such gatherings where you can't watch after them!

(4) _Otouto_ – younger brother

(5) Why does little Gaara look so darn cute! Especially with those huge eyes!


	13. Entry 10 point 5 Omake 2

**The Difference Between Boys and Girls **by **fangshinobi**

**N/A: **Same as the first omake.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto not mine. It's Masashi Kishimoto's (disclaimer writing block too).

**OMAKE #2**

…

"Why do I have to take swimming lessons here?" shrieked the prima dona.

Her poker-faced governess shoved her along, saying, "Ojou-sama, the coach here is an excellent trainer. He won quite the number of competitions, includi-"

"I don't care if he's the best coach or whatever!" the girl replied, turning around to fiercely glare at her nanny. "I don't want to swim in this dump!"

They were in the local public swimming pool, breeding grounds for Athlete's foot, ear infections and ringworms. Yay.

"I can't swim here!"

A couple of athletes were swimming laps on one side of the pool, while a group of teens lounged around at another corner. Kids shrieked and ran around the adjacent kiddy pool. A total zoo, if you asked the young miss.

"It can't be helped, Ojou-sama. Your father booked these lessons for you personally and-"

The girl heard nothing more. At the mere mention of her father, her face froze. The man would make her do things she hated just to turn her into the same competitive shark that he was. How she loathed him that way. Seriously, she was competitive enough. She didn't need his 'training'. Ballet and gymnastics last year was one thing; swimming lessons in this sorry excuse for a swimming facility was pushing it!

The governess chatted on and on, and the Ojou-sama let her push her along towards the said coach and his class.

The coach was tall, tan and had dark hair and those scary sharp gaze that the usual eleven-year-old would easily shrink from. All he did was glare (or at least it sure seemed like it) at his students, and they would flinch in the water, as if a lobster had grabbed their toes by the claw. He had that effect on people.

But the Ojou wasn't scared of him. Referred by her father or not, she didn't care one bit. She glared at him openly as the class did warm-ups, but she was disheartened to see that he didn't even notice her one bit. Stupid coach!

So instead, she concentrated her attention to the other students. Most of them were way older than she was. She didn't hear much of what her governess said, but she somehow remembered hearing that this was advance lessons. Lessons for those who wanted to swim competitively. Surely, these losers didn't seriously expect that they were competition-worthy. The other students were mostly composed of teens, most of whom looked like wimps. Sheesh, if it weren't for _that_ coach, her father would've never gotten her into that class. Sure, he wanted her to be the best in pretty much everything, but somehow, this was pushing it!

"New girl, huh?" asked one of the boys, a tubby guy with tiny beady eyes, who was floating nearby when she entered the pool. "You won't keep up, kid. This guy's a shark. He won't stop pushing you till your legs go numb."

The lanky teen next to him snickered in support.

She looked away snobbishly. Why waste her breath on these losers?

"Why doncha just drop out, _Ojou-sama_?" added the lanky boy. "Why doncha stick to _bellet_ or somethin'?"

"I'll have you know, ballet's a lot more work than you think," she snapped at them. Blisters, sores and aching limbs. The works. They didn't have the right to insult her hobbies. "You don't even know how to pronounce it correctly!"

The boys laughed loudly.

"Eh? Is that so?" asked Tubby. "Like leotard wedgies and tutu rashes?" More obnoxious laughter.

The young miss's face grew red in rage. These lame, worthless, floating losers think they're better than her? Big mistake!

She was about to yell their ears off when a sudden splash of water whipped the two losers in the faces.

"Why, you little brat!" Tubby shouted at a boy drifting nearby, who surprisingly looked just about her age.

"Come here so we could pound yer little head in!" added the enraged Lanky Boy.

The boy just laughed at them, a lock of his wet, light hair almost covering one eye. "Yeah right! Why don't you go after me, huh? You two couldn't even make it into the six feet zone without choking!"

"Why, you-!"

"Boy, stop messing with the students," the coach suddenly called out at the light-haired boy. "Just coz I let you 'sit in' this class, doesn't mean you can play around. And wear your swimming cap."

"Sure, Oji-san," the boy shouted back with a grin. "I won't mess around with these pansies anymore." The two guys glared at him more intensely.

"Twenty laps. Now."

The two teens snickered.

The boy just smiled at them and cut in between them and the girl. With a quick push off the wall, he was off. He finished the twenty laps in five minutes. After which, he was still as perky as a bee. "Oji-san! You want me to do more?"

"Get back in line, boy" was the coach's only reply.

He slipped in between the young miss and the two 'pansies'. He impishly grinned at the two. "See you at the deep end," he laughed.

The two boys gulped simultaneously. They obviously had depth issues.

The lesson went by smoothly, though most of the students couldn't keep up with the coach's strict demands. He made a drill sergeant look like a sweetheart with the way he pushed the trainees. Ojou-sama didn't have too much of a bad time. She was used to these types of trainings. In fact, she soon realized how exceptional the trainer was – not that she liked him any better.

During one of the breaks, the light-haired boy drifted around near her, looking as if he couldn't wait for the five minute recess to end so he could swim some more.

"Uh, thanks, by the way." The Ojou-sama surprised herself with what she just said.

"Eh? For what?" was the boy's confused reply.

"Uh, never mind!" She was already embarrassed by her action, but his response made her even more so. Was this guy so dense, or was he just forgetful?

The two punks, or anyone else for that matter, never bothered her again, but because of her poor performance (her dad once came and saw the coach's sitting-in nephew beat her in every lap), she was pulled out during the second week.

No sooner was the eleven-year old young miss pulled out from the lessons did she soon forgot about the stupid swimming classes, the 'dirty' public pool, the intimidating coach, the idiot trainees and that boy who swam like a fish.

…

"Ne, Nee-chan, is there a guy you like?"

"Uh, why are you asking me that, Imouto-chan?"

"Coz you always look outside like you're thinking about something."

The usually pale Hinata blushed a bright tinge of red. "Hanabi-chan!"

The younger girl laughed excitedly as she ran into the elementary school gates as any ten-year-old would after discovering someone's secret.

"Silly girl…" Hinata couldn't help mumbling.

"Hinata-chan! Neji! There you are!"

"Ohayou, Tenten-chan," greeted Hinata as she and her cousin joined the brunette in heading for the high school.

"Eh, Hinata-chan, you seem a bit uncomfortable. Are you okay?"

"She's nervous to go to school," supplied Neji.

"Uh, no… O-of course n-not… It's only the first day. I-I mean, I already know some of my classmates." The blush became more evident on her face.

"Well, what's wrong then?" Tenten asked again. She eyed Neji suspiciously. Surely, he must know.

He gave her a look that seemed to say, "You should know. Isn't the reason obvious?"

"'Kay, we're here now," said the older girl as they entered the school gates. "Welcome to your first day of high school, Hinata-chan!"

The ebony-haired girl nodded her head, only to blush all the more so upon gazing into the schoolyard.

"Hey, you're blushing again! What's wrong?" Tenten followed Hinata's gaze.

There, on the school grounds, were a group of guys noisily making their way to the school building. Standing out amongst the group with his golden head of tussled hair was none other than Naruto, who was louder and livelier than the rest.

"Oh," Tenten couldn't help uttering. For a girl, she really should've noticed sooner.

…

"Sakura, don't you think Sai looks a lot like Sasuke?"

"Eh? Yeah, I guess."

"Trust me, he's nothing like that Sasuke-teme," Naruto suddenly cut in.

"Naruto, butt out, why doncha?" Ino asked, annoyed, pushing the boy away from them. "This is girl talk."

"What? Are you gonna talk about which guy's cuter or something? Coz I personally think Sasuke looks handsomer – uh, I mean – not as bad as Sai does. Sai looks like a short-haired version of Sadako."

"Naruto, are you defending Sasuke?" Sakura asked in amusement.

"No way! Why would I-!"

"Hey, Naruto-kun, there you are." Sai had suddenly appeared, an arm over the blond teen's shoulder and the usual grin on his face. "Why don't you show me around school, huh?"

"Sai, you already know your way around," Naruto told him pointedly. He obviously didn't take a liking to the transferee… yet… "If you don't, why don't you just ask Ino here or-"

"I'd be glad to!" Ino cut in, already taking Sai's free arm and pulling him away.

"Huh? Does Ino have a crush on Sai or something?" the blond boy asked Sakura, staring after them in confusion.

"Uh, I think. I don't know what she sees in that guy."

"Sasuke?" was Naruto's guess.

"What?" the said teen asked as he approached them.

"Uh, it's you, Teme!" Naruto practically shouted into his ear. "You know, people have been saying that you look a lot like that Sai."

"The new guy? Really, I don't see the similarities." He took his seat nearby. "By the way, is there some sort of flu going around or something? Coz I've been sneezing a lot a while ago and-"

"Oh, some girls were just talking about how much handsomer you are than Sai, and-"

"Never mind," replied Sasuke with a sigh. He hated hearing about fan girls.

Sakura looked at Naruto pointedly. "Girls?" she silently mouthed.

The blond boy grinned in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, you know, Sakura, only girls would say such silly things."

"I suppose," she replied, rolling her eyes.

…

"This guy's the first year's Class 1-C's representative?" Temari grumbled as she read the list of class reps. "Never heard of him."

"A slacker, if I remember correctly, Temari-san," said her council co-member. "But he was voted by the student body, I suppose, so I'm not too sure anymore."

The sandy-haired council president rolled her eyes. Another one of those prank elections, where students voted for the worst possible candidate just to get a kick out of seeing the poor schmuck stumble before the intimidating Prexy's presence. There was always one of those every school year. Figured.

The first meeting was held soon enough, and Temari soon identified the slacker almost immediately. She hadn't seen any pictures, but the grouchy, bored expression on his face said it all. _I don't wanna be here. I'd rather sit in detention. Dear god, why me!_

That day, the first year class rep made a big first impression, easily shelling out side comments and retorts for everything that was said within the meeting. As it turns out, slacker he may be, but the boy was sharp as a tack. Though he never looked half as attentive as the rest of the student council did, he easily pointed out flaws, discrepancies and other vague points in every one of the council's proposals in every meeting he attended. Plus, he attended every single one no matter what. He didn't seem to have any clubs, but he could've easily escaped these meetings if he chose to. He probably wanted to spend as little time at home rather than in school.

He was easily given the title of Resident Critic, and he never failed to make every meeting a battle. Temari couldn't stand him, since most of his retorts could easily be directed towards her, since she was the president after all.

That year, the student council's reign ended on a happy note. The students were happy with the council's effort and organization. Activities, festivals, presentations, and other what-nots came through without flaw or trouble. The council president was congratulated a lot for her successful term, but she and the other council members all knew they secretly owed that headache of a class rep who wouldn't accept a half-baked proposal and always pushed for perfection.

But Temari was glad she was graduating. She couldn't care less for her 'successful reign' or the like. What she was most anxious for was that there would be no more of that annoying class rep… finally!

…

"Why the gloomy face, dork?"

"Shut up, Teme, you wouldn't understand." Naruto continued slumping against the locker room wall.

"What?"

The blond boy just ignored him. He was too busy wallowing in his little pit of despair.

"It's Valentine's today," Sai explained. "And, well, you know…"

The two dark-haired teens turned to look at Sakura, who was busy talking to Ino back inside. The two girls had given them chocolates earlier. Ino gave Sai "honmei" chocolates, the types you'd give to people you like, while the pink-haired girl gave all three boys "giri-choco" chocolates, which was basically for friends and family members.

"So he's upset over such a little thing?"

"Sasuke, how much chocolate do you get every year?"

"I dunno. A lot, I guess. There's a pile in my locker now. I never eat any of them though."

"Huh? What do you with them then?"

"I put 'em on my brother's pile," snickered Sasuke. His older brother, Itachi, was pretty popular too. He didn't know what his Nii-san did with them, but he didn't care as long as he didn't have to deal with those 'things'.

"Well, does Naruto get any?"

"Barely. I don't really know what's the big deal with them, really. Naruto doesn't even like chocolates that much."

"By barely, you do mean none, right?"

"Yup."

"S-sumimasen, N-Naruto-kun." The two boys were surprised to see a pale-skinned long-haired girl standing in front of Naruto.

"Eh?" the blond boy asked, a bit disoriented.

"Eto… uh… here!" She practically thrust a neatly wrapped box into his face, bowing her head in embarrassment.

"Uh, you really didn't need to, Hinata-chan," he said, still a bit too gloomy as he took the box.

"Uh, I-I really wanted to actually, s-so…" She paused, her face a blazing red. "Happy Valentines, Naruto-kun," she said really quickly before running off.

"Uh, there's always Hinata, I guess," Sasuke told Sai.

"Huh? She likes him then?"

"Yeah, for a while now, I suppose. Everyone knows."

"But she hasn't given him chocolate for Valentine's before?"

"Yeah, as far as I know."

"I wonder why she gave me one," Naruto stated, obviously confused, as he eyed the box.

"She obviously likes you," Sai told him.

"Huh? She does? That's strange… Why would she like me anyway?" He was completely baffled.

"Well, I don't know either," said Sasuke. "I wouldn't know why anyone would."

"But if you don't do anything about it…" added Sai.

"Uh? Do what?"

His friends groaned. This guy was clueless.

"Go give her something on White Day," suggested Sai.

"What? But that would mean I like her, and-"

"You don't?"

"Well, maybe I do, but-"

"This conversation is useless! I'm going now!" Sasuke said hurriedly as he walked off. Naruto was starting to get really, _really_ annoying.

"What's with him?" asked Naruto.

"He got a load of chocolate from his fan girls."

"Yeah, he always gets all grumpy on Valentine's. I dunno why he doesn't appreciate the chocolates. I mean, most girls actually make them especially for him. And he's clueless to how much they like him."

"He's not the only one," remarked Sai.

"Huh? You said something?"

"Uh, nothing." No wonder Sasuke got so annoyed! This guy's not clueless! He's hopeless!

…

**END OF OMAKE**

**Author's note:** I really should've updated sooner, but we went on a three-day two-night class retreat. In the middle of nowhere. With no computers. Or TV. Yeah. But on the bright side, as soon as I read the awesome reviews last week, I immediately started writing the next chapter. My dear readers, how you inspire me! I'll update next week! Lol btw just finished reading _The Dante Club_ by _Matthew Pearl_. This book is too awesome (albeit gory hehe...). Reading time. Well, till next time. Ja ne!

**Side notes:** (1) Who's the _Ojou-sama_ (literally translated to 'young miss')? And the boy? What? You've never read my DBG fic! Ah, shame on you (shakes head).

(2) I gather Japanese swimming pools must be supposedly very clean, right? Just the Ojou's imagination. She thinks that everything public is dirty.

(3) "Sasuke looks handsomer – uh, I mean – not as bad as Sai does." - Lines adapted from the manga when Sai was first introduced into the group. No, I am so not implying slash or shounen ai here. Sorry, I don't go there… ahem, most of the time, ahem… It's just really funny!

(5) "Yeah, you know, Sakura, only girls would say such silly things." – Yeah, guys could say things that 'silly'.

(6) Class rep? That's Shika. Yeah, shame on you if you didn't realize sooner!

(7) Sasuke and Naruto have different opinions about Valentine's, but both hate it just as much as the other does lol.

**Next time: **

_"Hey, doesn't that guy look a lot like-" Suigetsu couldn't help asking upon seeing the other group._

_"Oh boy," muttered Naruto._


	14. Entry 11: Flying Arrows

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 11 – Flying Arrows**

**DAY 3**

**Archery Area 1000**

The next class for that day was archery, and even though there wasn't as much boy-girl tension as they did back in the previous class, static could be felt in the atmosphere - between Sasuke and a certain someone from the other cabin group.

As if mixing the cabins up wasn't already as troublesome as it already was, having them attend each class with a different cabin set was definitely pushing it.

"Hey," said Suigetsu, "that guy looks a lot like-"

"Oh, boy," muttered Naruto, seeing who the other group was. It was _that_ other group.

"Sasuke, don't look now coz-" Sai couldn't help cutting himself off with a snicker.

"Ohnohnohnohnohnohno," muttered Naruto, not even daring to look at Sasuke.

"What's up with you two anyway?" Suigetsu asked, confused.

Sai laughed again and pointed at his 'twin'. "Look."

The aquamarine-haired boy, like the outsider that he was, was surprised to see the expression on Sasuke's face – he looked as if he wanted to kill someone!

Sai pulled Suigetsu aside and started explaining. "That's Sasuke's brother Itachi." He pointed at one of the sempai, who looked like a grimmer, older version of Sasuke. And, well, they..."

"Hate each other," Naruto cut in. "Right, Sasuke?!" he shouted at his brooding bestie.

Sasuke ignored him, looking really scary. Suigetsu could swear he could almost see the ominous aura around him.

"Judging from the look on Sasuke's face, that's a given," remarked Suigetsu. Man, Sasuke looked scary. "What's up with that?"

"Family thing," said Naruto. "I think it's an inheritable trait. Their looks isn't the only thing they have in common."

...  
"Hey, that's Itachi," Karin couldn't help saying to herself when she saw him. Sasuke's brother. Even she couldn't get over the fact that the two looked a lot like each other. The same eyes even!

Just then, her three cabinmates arrived.

"Oh my god," remarked Ino. "Not Itachi."

"Just great," muttered Sakura.

"Huh? What is?" asked Hinata, oblivious. Karin was just as curious. What was with the two brothers?

"They hate each other," chorused Ino and Sakura.

"Can't believe neither one of them has left the house yet," added Ino. "They would've killed each other by now."

"Big house," remarked Sakura.

The brothers' eyes met in what could only be considered death glares. And if death glares really could kill, they would've killed each other by now. Even Karin could feel the static between them. Did they hate each other that much? Still, Sasuke looked even way cooler now!

...  
Class started soon enough, and Asuma-sensei wasted no time in pleasantries. He sent them all to the field and showed them the proper usage of the bow and arrow - no playing around; aim at the target and the target only; don't launch the arrow into the air - it'll come back down at you. The works.

By the time they got to practice, arrows instantly started flying from the two brothers. All the arrows hit the respective targets, slowing making their way to the bullseye. It was a full-blown war.

The third year girls from the other cabin couldn't help gaping at them in surprise.

"Man, I know they're competitive and all," said one, a very pretty girl with long dark brown tresses and chocolate-colored eyes, "but I didn't know that it was by this much!"

"Gambate, Itachi-san!" shouted another, a cute girl with short black hair in a flip bob. When her friends gave her skeptic looks, she just said, "What? There's nothing wrong with cheering, right?"

"Back to practice, girls!" Asuma shouted at them. "You're not leaving till you get a bullseye!"

"Whaaaaat?!" clamored the girls, who rushed back to their positions as soon as he said those words.

Even Sakura couldn't help getting distracted. If Sasuke was as driven against her as he was against Itachi, perhaps she wouldn't have stood a chance. She released the arrow and it flew off course, hitting the ground just below the target. That was way off.

"Sakura-chan, you okay?" Naruto, just beside her, inquired when he saw her feeble attempts at hitting the target.

"Ah, yeah, I - nh, no, I'm not," she admitted. She sighed heavily. "Stressed out maybe." To think about it, she was feeling way out of it now. Maybe she just didn't feel like shooting some arrows. Or maybe the two brothers' competitive spirits were burning hers out. Hell, she didn't know! Maybe it could be both!

She glanced at the other archers nearby. The other cabin's members seemed to be doing well. Except maybe Hinata...

"Oops!" she yelped when the arrow she had just shot fell only a few feet away from her.

"Naruto, Hinata's not doing too well," Sakura pointed out. "You better help her."

"Yeah, but-"

"Go, you!" She laughed. "I'll be fine."

"Okay, if you say so," he said, looking doubtfully at her, as he headed to Hinata.

The horrible shots continued for Sakura. A couple of decent ones would appear once in a while, but that didn't happen too often. Her arms just felt so weak she couldn't send the arrow far enough.

"We're done, Sensei," Itachi remarked after a while. He pointed at his and his brother's targets. Arrows were poking out of them, each one containing a few bullseyes.

"You hit 'em alright," remarked Asuma upon seeing them. "One more thing though. You can't leave unless everyone hits their marks too." He turned and left to survey the others.

"I hit eight."

"Tch, eight as well."

"Eight?! That one is obviously on the border."

"You can't beat me so you make up excuses, eh?"

"It's a frickin draw!"

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun, no need to lose your temper over that."

Sasuke fumed even more. His brother had the face of a professional poker player. Damn, this guy knew no expression. It was only with this single human being could Sasuke lose his head so much. Man, he'd do anything to get adopted out of the family.

"Itachi-san!" called out the same girl who had cheered on him earlier. "You're done, ne? Can I get you to help me? I'm not any good at this-"

"Sure, I'll help you" was Itachi's unexpected reply.

Sasuke gaped as his brother went off with the girl. WTF?! Is he competing over fan girls too?! Damn niisan was crazy!

…

"Soudesuka?" laughed Ino, spontaneous and loud as can be. "You're so funny, Sempai!"

"Yeah, you should've seen it!" replied the upperclassman, a senior with orange-blond hair and hazel eyes that easily shined when he smiled. "It was funnier in person!"

An athlete who won MVP of the year, Yahiko-sempai was also the basketball team captain. He was smart, witty and very hot in Ino's book. Plus, he was a graduating student who had qualified to enroll in a prestigious university. Have I mentioned the tall lean physique, sunny complexion, bright smile and those, oh, so dazzling eyes? He was definitely a ten out of ten with ten as the highest possible score.

"Yahiko, you're exaggerating," his friend said apologetically, embarrassed at Ino for his friend's hyperbolic statements. This one was Nagato-kun, also a senior. He was quiet and more reserved, contrasting with his friend's sunny personality. His dark scarlet bangs swept over his forehead, easily covering his violet eyes. He was a close friend of the orange blond teen and was said to have enrolled in the same university, which proved that his intellect was no less than his good friend's. He wasn't as tall his basketball captain pal but just as lean. He was in the student council, and quite popular too. It was cute how he combed back his bangs once in a while or give a half-smile whenever he was embarrassed.

"It's still funny anyway," said Ino, wallowing in the attention of these ehem – ehem – single – ehem – ehem cuties. She stole a glance at Sai, who was busy shooting at the target. He seemed so serious doing it.

If only they hadn't fought and were still together, he'd be helping her with her target, laughing, teasing and forgetting about his own assignment. Instead, there she was in other guys' companies without having finished her own activity.

"You know, I'm not usually into younger girls but-"

"Yahiko-sempai!" laughed Ino. "Aren't you being too forward?"

The blond senior laughed. "Just giving you a heads-up," he said with a wink.

"Areee… I wonder if Hidan-sempai will help me with my target," teased Ino, eyeing the said silver-haired senior who was busy concentrating on his aim just a couple of meters away.

Yahiko was offended. "That grouch?!" he exclaimed in mock anger. "I'm already here!"

"But you have terrible aim," pointed out Nagato.

"Exactly," agreed the blond girl.

"Hey, don't gang up on me!" The orange-haired teen made a childish face, causing the two to laugh at him.

By chance, Ino once again found her gaze drifting towards Sai again.

She remembered the first day of high school when she first met him. He looked a lot like Sasuke (she can't even remember what she saw in _that_ guy), but he was a lot different. At first Sai seemed to have a case of ADD (Attention-Deficit Disorder), always bugging Naruto, but that was only because they'd already been friends over the break. The only person who went out of her way to bother him was her, who was totally crushing on him back then (so much for those times). He had only come to be part of their group of friends through their mutual friendship with Naruto. With everyone else, he seemed rather withdrawn. So was he now as he focused on hitting his bullseye, maintaining a face of concentration, one that seemed to her as cold as a marble statue's.

"Come on!" Yahiko said, snapping her out of her reverie. "I'll show you I've got great aim!"

"Let's see about that!" challenged Ino.

…

Karin, on the other hand, had been busy filling up her target board. Sasuke would definitely be impressed now! By chance, he was heading her way!

Karin strung the bow and aimed. Steady now. She released it. Perfect shot. It whizzed to the target magnificently, hitting dead center. Bullseye! She was ecstatic. He has to notice her now!

She turned to see his reaction. To her surprise, he just passed by her without a single glance.

"Aim the arrow higher and draw it back some more," remarked Sasuke.

"What?" Sakura said, surprised to know that he was actually talking to her. She lowered the bow and arrow and glowered at him. "Look, as bad as I'm doing, I don't need your help."

He glowered back. "Tch. I'm not doing this for you. I just want to get this class dismissed and over with."

"I'll do fine," she snapped. She had resolved to blot out his existence, but it was harder than she had expected. She couldn't help losing it, just as Sasuke had with Itachi. She raised the bow and arrow and took a shot for emphasis. The arrow didn't make it halfway. She pressed a hand on one leg. Her thighs felt like they were going to crumble beneath her.

"You're hopeless," he remarked, holding out a hand. "Give me the bow. I'll show you."

Sakura strung another arrow in defiance. "Give it up," she said dryly.

To her surprise, she felt him approach her from behind and place his arms around her, placing his hands over hers, as if he were the one handling the bow.

"I told you, I don't need your hel-" Before she could finish what she had to say, he had already pulled, aimed and shot, her hand still in his. Bullseye.

"Asuma-sensei, Sakura's done!" announced Sasuke, his hands now behind his back.

The teacher approached, eyeing the target and the suspicious amount of arrows scattered about her target area and that lone bullseye on the practically blank board.

"Sensei, it doesn't count!" insisted Karin, who had sulked at seeing the two together like that.

"And why shouldn't it?" Sasuke challenged, a threatening look on his face. Karin shrunk away from the intimidating eyes. How could he glare at her so?!

"Because Sasuke helped me," Sakura supplied, up to the challenge.

"Attaboy!" Asuma suddenly exclaimed, slapping Sasuke across the back so hard he actually leaned forward from the impact. "That's what I call teamwork!"

Naruto, who'd just finished helping Hinata hit her own mark, gave his best friend a sympathetic look when the latter mouthed a few profanities in pain.

"Sensei, Hinata and I are done," the blond boy informed their teacher as he walked towards them, Hinata following after him.

"Did she hold the bow and arrow during that shot?" asked Asuma.

"Uh, yeah. I sorta assisted her though. That's okay, right?"

"Yeah, of course! You guys are amateurs! What did you expect?"

Sasuke was able to straighten up, having recovered from the pain by then, and triumph in his victory, something his steely persona couldn't hide from Sakura.

"Eh?!" exclaimed the ebony-haired girl Itachi had helped as she approached them. "You mean Itachi-san could've 'assisted' me too?" she whined. Itachi could've, at that time, 'assisted' her the same way Sasuke had with Sakura. If only she'd known, she would've given it a shot!

"Is everyone done?" inquired Asuma, loud enough for everyone to hear.

There was a unanimous answer. Everyone was done.

"Yosh! You're all dismissed! Get outta here!"

As Sakura was about to start a scene by stomping away, Sasuke grabbed her wrist and said, "Hey, I know why you couldn't get a shot in back there."

"What?!" Yeah right.

He leaned closer, making her flinch from the proximity. He whispered something into her ear, and she jumped and shouted, "How the hell would you-"

She glanced at her backside and then smacked him on the shoulder.

"Hey, what's up?" Naruto asked curiously, hoping that perhaps all was well in this world again, and his two friends were warring pals again and not warring enemies anymore.

"Nothing!" Sakura replied dryly, glaring at Sasuke. "I have something to discuss with this freak."

"Oh! Okay!" exclaimed the blond teen, pushing Hinata and the others away with him. "You guys settle what you have to!"

Apparently, Asuma and the others were in a hurry to vamoose too, so the two debate instigators were left alone.

"Pervert!" Sakura shouted at Sasuke. "What the hell were you doing staring at my ass?!"

"Yeah right. Like I'd waste my time staring at that scrawny backside of yours. Especially with that huge stain staring at me-"

The girl kicked him on the shin. She hadn't even felt anything. No wonder she felt so weak. She was having a case of anemia – she usually suffered anemia even with as slight as the blood loss was.

Sasuke flinched but remained his posture soon enough. "That's why you were feeling so out of it. No wonder your monstrous strength vanished."

He just raised an eyebrow at her when she held up a fist. She was aware that she couldn't hit him hard enough – she really was feeling awfully limp.

"Look," she said, quieter now and a bit apologetic, "you didn't have to look out for me."

"Habits are hard to kill."

Sakura gulped. Being close friends with her for a while now, Naruto and Sasuke had learned to understand her 'red days', which include mood swings, constant trips to the clinic and some crimson stains that needed washing in the girls' restroom. Girls don't usually get _that_ close enough with boys, but Sakura (who did, to the point wherein it was getting uncomfortable already), the boys had, at one point or another, accepted her 'womanly pains', as if they knew it all too well themselves.

"You don't understand!" she exclaimed. "We're in a war!" Well, that's what most people called it.

He hesitated. "Maybe only for you," he remarked. "I really don't think anything's changed."

He was right. He seemed to be acting just the same way he had been before the feud. The usual jerk that he was. He was not doing these awful things to spite her in the name of male superiority, but for personal reasons – he was still just being a prick.

"I'm still mad at you!" she shouted at him. "You insensitive jerk! You sadist!"

She took off her light cotton jacket and wrapped it around her waist before she ran off.

Sasuke sighed. This girl was too easy to read. He slowly followed the same route heading towards their cabins, making sure he wouldn't catch up to her.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **I initially wanted archery class to be shorter (and not as eventful), but hey, this is what I get. Anyway, finished writing it in a hurry. We had to go on our second retreat, and the place seemed too holy to write in, so I only finished today. Took me too long to type it coz of too many distractions (research finish-ups, _Flo on the Go_ and lotsa manga like _Ludwig Kakumei_ by _Yuki Kaori_, where fairy tales take to their gothic roots and literally go wild, _Gokinjo Monogatari_ and _Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai_, both shoujo manga by _Yazawa Ai_, my shoujo manga hero). Well, here it is (finally). Hope I didn't disappoint. Till next time!

**Special thanks:** _alayleni_ for the 'lil plot there. Thankies so much!

**Side notes:** (1) I was really embarrassed to write this, but the whole _period_ thing always popped out in boy-girl debates together with "we boys have two sex chromosomes, X and Y" and "at least we girls don't need to get circumcised". (Blushes) Sorry! Gomen gomen! (Hides)

(2) "Sasuke looked as if he wanted to kill someone!" – A bit of a pun. In the manga, Sasuke _does_ want to kill Itachi lol.

(3) "Their looks isn't the only thing they have in common." – What Naruto meant was the _competitive spirit_ lol.

(4) Asuma's so funny this way lol.

(5) "Is he competing over fan girls too?!" – extremely out of place in there lol, but it seemed funny, I couldn't help putting it there.

(6) Yahiko and Nagato are too cute (hearts for eyes)! Grown-up Yahiko/Pein is too cool though!

(7) Does Ino seem too much of a flirt? Ehe… I didn't mean for her to get too flirty. At least she's not batting her eyelashes and all that stuff. Does this mean Ino's over Sai… hm… I'm confused as well…

(8) Uh, sorry for my lack of knowledge on archery terminology… too lazy to look 'em up lol.

(9) I love how Sasuke is so evil! (Maybe I'm just a sadomasochist hehe…) Sorry if there isn't much sasusaku around. Maybe an omake later.

(10) Uh, yeah, I'm under the impression that archery requires some upper body strength – something slight anemia (caused by say, maybe one's _period_) could sap from one's body.

(11) I just remembered what _Akira_ in _Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai_ said about _Midori_ - "It wasn't a sexy butt to begin with!" when she tripped and fell on stage, exposing her red checkered underwear to the whole student body. Hehe…

**Next Time:**

"_Dei, you've got to be women's number one enemy right now!" Yahiko exclaimed._


	15. Entry 12: Plots

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 12 - Plots**

**DAY 3**

**Cooperative Building at approximately 1100**

"Oi, let me cut in line."

"Why should I?" replied Naruto, cocking a thumb to the long line behind him. "Go line up."

Sasuke looked at him blankly.

"You seen Sai or Suigetsu?"

"You're asking me. Just got here, remember?"

"Well, what're you waiting for? The end of the line's over there."

"Let. Me. Cut. In. Line."

Naruto glared at Sasuke. The dark-haired boy could be such a brat sometimes. Most of the classes had already gotten dismissed early, causing the long queue at the cafeteria.

"It's your fault you took too long!" The blond boy's expression suddenly changed to a suspicious one. "How did it go with Sakura? Have you apologized yet?"

"What are you talking about? Let me cut."

"What?! You didn't?"

"Let it go."

"Sasuke-kun, if you want, I'll let you cut ahead of me," one of the girls behind said. It was the same girl who'd asked Itachi to help her back in archery class.

Sasuke just looked at her once before returning his gaze to Naruto. "Are you letting me cut or not?"

Suddenly, the blond boy jumped over the bar that guided the cafeteria line. "There. Now you can't cut ahead of me anymore."

"Sayo, move over," Sasuke told the girl who was supposedly behind Naruto. "I'm cutting."

"Kyaaa!" the girl shrieked in excitement.

Naruto grabbed the back of Sasuke's collar and started dragging him away. "Help me find them."

**Lake Path 1110**

"It'll sure be a riot!" laughed Karin as she and her group went up the path leading away from the lake.

"Too bad we won't be able to see it ourselves, eh, Tayuya?" said Kin.

"Boohoo," remarked the pink-haired girl in the least excited tone ever.

"Tayuya, stop being such a wet blanket," snapped Karin.

"I wouldn't be, Princess, if it was any exciting," replied the sourpuss. "It's not like we drilled holes into the kayaks or something-"

Karin suddenly held up a hand, ending the conversation. Just ahead of them stood Suigetsu, apparently heading in the opposite direction.

"Look who's here" was his nonchalant greeting as he approached, giving them his usual grin. "Did ya girls go for a little swim?"

"No, we didn't," Karin replied, evidently tense. "What's it to you anyway?"

Her two companions exchanged looks. What was up with her?

"I dunno," he answered. "Maybe you must've done something else… like, say, sabotage the kayaks?" He laughed. "Or maybe it's just me."

"What makes you think we'll do something as childish as that?" Karin's reply almost failed to leave her mouth. Her friends noticed _that_.

Suigetsu smiled even wider. "Yeah, I dunno what I was thinking. Of course you wouldn't. Anyway, I'll be off for a swim. Later." He waved as he passed them, as if they were very good friends.

As soon as he was gone, Karin marched off in a hurry. The two had to run to catch up to her.

"Wait a minute-" Tayuya had to hold an arm in front of Karin just to stop her. "What was that?!"

"Yeah, you looked like you were losing your cool back then," supplied Kin.

"I was not!" Karin snapped at them. She was breathing hard, fuming. "But that – that-"

"You're telling us that guy somehow managed to get under your skin?" the ebony-haired girl asked, incredulous. She released a low whistle. "Man, he must've been good."

The redhead pushed Kin in an almost childish manner. "He did not!" she insisted, her face getting redder by the second.

"Pft, looked like he did," Tayuya remarked, amused. "The way you're acting just proves it. You even made us sabotage the kayaks. What'd he do anyway?"

"Come on, you can tell us," said Kin. She too had never seen Karin act like this. "I mean, you don't usually get this stressed over anything. Not even as much as you do over that Sakura girl."

Karin growled at her friends. "Fine. Whatever you say." She may as well admit it. "I am soooo annoyed with him," she added in an exaggerated manner.

The two girls shared another look behind the redhead's back. This promised quite an interesting scenario for them.

**Cabin Path at approximately 1100**

"I can't believe it!" exclaimed Ino as she, Hinata and Sakura headed down the path from their Cabin.

"Calm, down, Ino-chan," Hinata said.

"I'm fine," Sakura deadpanned. She looked like she didn't want to hear any of it.

"No, you're not!" insisted the blonde.

"Yes. I. Am."

"After what that Sasuke did?!"

"I said I'm fine!" the pink-haired girl's face was getting redder by the second. "If you're so upset over it, why don't you handle it yourself?! I'm sick of feeling like I need to be on my guard every time I'm around Sasuke! I want to hang out with Naruto again, even if I have to hang out with _him_ too. I just want this to end." She marched off, apparently trying to get away from them.

"And that's it?!" Ino shouted as she and Hinata chased after her.

They were surprised to see the pink-haired girl stop in her tracks all of a sudden. Ahead of them were Naruto _and_ Sasuke.

**Cabin B4 1100**

"Oi, Kage-kun, there you are!"

The raven-haired teen looked out the open cabin door, an irritated look on his face. "What?" he called out, eyeing the curly-haired girl calling him.

"Hey, we need your help," the girl, Mikan, said, popping her head through the door.

"No way" was his quick reply. "I don't want to be seen fraternizing with the enemy."

"When was I an enemy?" she asked, smirking at him with an evil glint in her eyes.

"Pft, which manga did you get that expression from anyway?" he laughed, rolling his amber eyes before returning his gaze to the jump on his lap.

"Just shut up and listen to what I have to say." This time, she was pouting like a little girl.

"I won't be listening."

She hovered over him, stealing a look at the manga. "Eh, is that Fang Shinobi Chronicles?"

"Yeah, what's it to you, Curly Tops? Actually heard of it?"

"Uh-huh, I've completed the whole series. Special editions and posters and stuff…"

"Yeah-huh you did… You did?!"

"Duh."

"Girls don't read Fang!"

"We do! Well, at least _I_ do."

"It's seinen!"

"So? It's just a bit more mature than shounen, but other than the kanji used, it's just like shounen, right? Furigana isn't used, that's all."

"Yeah, but the content – I mean, Fang has more violence and-"

"Come on, Kage, stop worrying about what I'm reading. I've read worse."

"Worse?" He eyed her incredulously. "Okay, are your sure you're a girl?"

"Just coz I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, you gonna help me?"

"With what?" He finally put aside the manga.

"Just a little plan we have… It's for the good of the whole camp… you know, concerning the whole boy-girl feud." She put her hands together. "Please."

"Well, what's in it for me?"

She pointed at the Fang Shinobi Chronicles, giving him a big grin.

"Fine, I'm in."

**Cabin Path **

"It's Sakura-chan…" mumbled Naruto. Of course, Sasuke noticed her just as soon as he did.

"Sakura!" Ino caught up to her friend and started tugging on her arm. "You don't need to do this."

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto finally called out.

"Hey, guys, I need to-"

"Get lunch!" Ino cut in, pulling the pink-haired girl along, Hinata following after them.

"Ino!" complained Sakura, pulling her arm back. She gave her blond friend a big ol' glare before turning towards the boys.

"What's up, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto, already approaching them.

The carnation-haired girl moved her gaze to Sasuke, bracing herself for what she was about to say. "I wanted to talk to-"

"Ah, Sasuke!" It was Karin… _and_ Tayuya _and_ Kin. "What're you doing here?" The redhead was acting very nonchalantly, very much unlike herself when she was alone with him.

Her cronies looked like they were about to choke lest they released their pent-up laughter.

"We're looking for Suigetsu and Sai," Naruto answered for him when his raven-haired friend refused to answer for a tad too long.

Karin looked disapprovingly at the blond boy. Surely, if he hadn't answered, Sasuke would've… eventually…

"Sasuke?" she asked again.

"…Whatever he said," the ebony-haired teen finally replied… after a pretty long moment of hesitation, I might add.

"Oh, we know where Suigetsu is," spoke up Kin.

"Yeah, just saw him," added Tayuya.

Their redhead boss gave them both a sideways glare.

"Yeah, down the path," said crony number one.

"Near the lake," added number two.

"We could show you," Karin finally said, almost too forcefully.

Sasuke was quick to answer this time. "Um, no, I think we can handle that ourselves, right, Naruto?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto glanced at Sakura again. "What was that you wanna talk about?"

"Um, nothing," she replied, flustered. She gave Karin's group another glance before saying, "We're heading off to lunch… uh… wanna go?"

"We're – We have to go look for Suigetsu – hey, Sasuke, wait up! Ja ne, Sakura-chan!" He chased after his friend who'd headed off by then.

The two groups of girls found themselves alone now. Glares were exchanged, and Sakura was the first to break eye contact and storm off for the coop building. Her group followed, Ino the last one to release her glare.

**Picnic Table #009 1130**

"Man, you've got to be kidding me," laughed Yahiko, slapping a knee.

"I don't think he is," Nagato remarked incredulously, seated beside his friend. "I mean, this is Deidara we're talking about."

The orange-haired teen laughed even louder, giving his blond friend a high five. "Dei, you've got to be women's number one enemy right now!"

"I try," replied Deidara, laughing as well.

"Slugs – in their bathroom!"

"Sh! Keep it down low, dude," Deidara said in a conspiringly low voice. "We never know who's listening!"

"Dei, the nearest occupied table is too far," Nagato pointed out.

"The next thing he'll probably say is that trees have ears or something," remarked Hidan, who sat on the other end of the table, an aggravated look on his face.

"Anyway, like I was saying," continued Yahiko, "that's awesome, dude. Totally original! How'll you get 'em in though?"

The blond teen leaned over the table. "You'll find out soon enough," he replied with a grin, his voice lowered.

"He'll use the tiny window above their bathroom," stated another red-haired friend.

"Sasori!" groaned Deidara. "Way to ruin the surprise!"

"It was obvious," replied the redhead with a nonchalant shrug.

"Man, I am so in!" exclaimed Yahiko.

"Way to go, Yahiko! At least you've got my back. Unlike this no good best friend of mine." He stuck a tongue out at Sasori.

The redhead waved him off, totally indifferent. Not like his trouble-loving pal, he was more of a pacifist, avoiding either trick or treat to benefit or disadvantage others.

"Why waste your time with this anyway?" Hidan asked, clearly annoyed by their enthusiasm over something he considered extremely juvenile. "You're acting like a couple of damn kids."

"Well, that's two against and two with," remarked Deidara, disappointed. "I suppose Itachi's not up to it either." Their raven-haired friend merely nodded his head in affirmative. "How about you, Sai-kun?" the blond sempai asked their solemn tablemate.

The lowerclassman, who had been extremely silent till that point, shrugged. "I'd rather not," he said quietly, picking at the remainders of his lunch.

"Bah, Nagato, you're cousin's as much of a pussy as you are," complained Dei. "So that's 2-on-5 then. It'll only be me and you, Yahiko."

"Come on, you haven't even asked me yet," remarked Nagato, clearly feeling left out.

"Nagato, knew you'd join the dark side!" his orange-haired friend exclaimed, clapping him on the back.

"Yeah, whatever. Just… don't tell anyone I'm in on it!"

As the three partners-in-crime chattered on, the others, save Sai, bombarded them with discouragement in the form of snide remarks, sarcastic comments and the like.

The kouhai had joined the table for lunch and for no better reason not to. Sure, Nagato was a cousin to the third degree, but they weren't exactly close. At one point some time ago, the upperclassman pointed out the connection. It was confirmed, but since both had their own clique in their corresponding classes, their paths rarely crossed.

"Speaking of which…" As Deidara said these words, the table fell silent. Everyone turned to see a certain blonde approaching their table, a tray in her hands.

"Hey, sempai," greeted Ino them, as bubbly as ever.

"Hey, Ino – yeow!" Yahiko suddenly gave her a forced smile before turning away to curse under his breath.

"Yo, Ino," greeted Deidara, his foot positioned in such a way that it was threatening to give Yahiko another kick on the shin the minute he chose to open his mouth again.

"Ei, Deidara-sempai. Uh, what's wrong with Yahiko-" As she turned towards the orange-haired upperclassman, she finally noticed Sai, who was just sitting across from him. He was looking away, as if ignoring her on purpose.

"Nothing!" Yahiko spoke up. "Nothing's wrong! I'm perfectly fine!"

She wasn't too sure about that. "Uh, okay, so I have to go now," she said, giving them a weak smile as she turned and headed for a nearby table, where her friends joined her.

"What was that about?" Yahiko hissed at his blond friend, slumping on the table.

Deidara looked at him with an absolutely twisted expression on his face. "What were you thinking? Flirting with the enemy?!"

"Whaaaaat? She was cute!"

The blond boy glanced Sai. "Hey, kiddo, wasn't she your girlfriend?"

"Uh? What?" He looked like he had just snapped out of some sort of daze.

"Ino over there. Your girl?"

"Hm… no… We sorta broke up during the party."

"You mean she was your ex all this time!" exclaimed Yahiko.

Deidara and Nagato, both sitting on either side of him, simultaneously nudged his orange head down, hoping to shut him up before the nearby table heard any more of him.

"Um, yeah, I guess." Sai looked as if he were sleep-talking. He had a blank expression on his face, and his voice was unnaturally low.

"Another reason why we should target her too," remarked Deidara.

He was once again pelted by a downpour of the usual discouragement.

"I can think up a new plan!" More whiplash.

"I swear, Sai, I had no idea!" stated Yahiko, embarrassed for being such a flirt.

"Don't worry," replied the lowerclassman. "I don't really care." He got up, taking his tray.

"Wait up, Sai, I have a new plan!" Deidara called after him.

"Not interested," he replied without as much as a backwards glance.

"Man, Nagato," said Dei, "you're cousin is so damn weird."

Nagato could only shrug in reply. "Takes one to know one."

**Cabin G6 1130 **

"Did you hear what she said back there?!" exclaimed Karin as she plopped down on Tayuya's bunk, grabbing a pillow and strangling it. "Sakura wants to be _friends_ with _my_ Sasuke-kun again!"

They were in Cabin G6, where Tayuya and Kin resided.

"Whatever, just lay off my pillow!" Tayuya grabbed the said pillow from her hands and tossed it to a further side of the bunk.

"She is just so – Argh!"

"What I don't get, Karin," started Kin, grabbing a nearby chair, "is why you're so threatened by this chick."

"Why don't we just flame her out already?" groaned their pink-haired cohort as she lay down spread-eagle style beside Karin. "Sheesh, so much trouble over some glitzy floozy."

"Have you ever considered that maybe she's not into him?" Kin suggested lamely.

"Could you just shut up?" snapped the redhead at them. "I need to think!" She started racking her brain for any bright ideas. First, there's that annoying Suigetsu, then there was that Pinky. She needed to get rid of them. And fast!

As she was inducing a migraine on herself, her two pals could only snicker, amused at their boss's predicament.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Eh! I'm so sorry this took too long! I'm so full of excuses (_W Juliet _ by _Emura_ – double cross-dressing! – and I ended up reading 41 chapters of _Anima_ and all 24 chapters of _Blue Paradise_! I couldn't help it!). Anyway, I'll be off to college by next June, so I might be unexpectedly _busier_. Someday, I'll find a way to pre-write everything before I submit them (oh, wouldn't that be a miracle?). Anyways, till next time! I'll go tell you what I'm reading then too lol.

**Side notes:** (1) Sasuke's acting like a little kid. Wahahaha… maybe it's the influence of having read _My Honey_ too much! Mikage, aka Mika-chan, sometimes shows a "childish" side despite his cool façade. Mikage's very polite though. Almost as eerily polite as Itachi.

(2) Karin didn't like it when her weakness – in this case, Suigetsu – is exposed, even to her cohorts.

(3) Introducing Mikan and Kage! Well, actually, I've already inserted Mikan and co. in a previous chappy. They're part of a fic of mine composed of OC's, including Kage-kun. The three girls, Mikan, Hana and Shinju, are based on me and my friends, aka The Mice Girls, for which we are known for undertaking a research study that included handling white mice. As you can see, Mikan is based on my quirky childish hyperactive manga-addicted side. Kage is also one of my fave characters. His job is to constantly butt heads with Mikan-chan. You'll be seeing more of them soon enough!

(4) Yup, _Fang Shinobi Chronicles_ is based on Naruto, which I am so obsessed about right now. Naruto isn't _seinen_, obviously, with the help of Masashi Kishimoto's knack for censoring and making most subjectively ecchi-ish scenes more or less implied. Lol. Yes, I read both _seinen_ and _josei_ (the for-women counterpart). Like _Nana_ and _Death Note_. Lol. And yes, I've read that the presence of furigana is an indication whether a manga is shoujo/shounen or josei/seinen.

(5) I would've put more of the Akatsuki in there, but I didn't know how to portray them. Also, sorry if they're OOC.

(6) Also, I apologize if I altered Deidara's speech pattern. I mean, I know a lotta people love the way he talks, un, but I didn't consider it appropriate for this fic. Sorry, un. Or yeah. Whatever.

(7) Also, in my other fic, _SFBP_, Ino and Dei are sibs. It would've been the same here, if I thought about it earlier, 'cept I didn't, so no go.

**Next Time:**

"_Tobi!" shrieked Deidara, almost hysterical._


	16. Entry 13: Games

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 13 - Games**

**DAY 3**

**Cooking Classroom 1600**

"He actually brought that along," remarked Shikamaru, referring to the portable gaming console Kiba was presently tinkering with.

"Yeah," Kankurou remarked enviously as he hungrily eyed the gadget. "Wish I brought mine along too. My sis wouldn't let me." His voice tightened when he mentioned her, still upset over the authority she enforced on him when they had been packing up for the camp. His fingers were itching to cause similar ninja mayhem in his own _Fang Shinobi Quest_ game.

The boys of B6 and B4 were outside the cooking class, lounging by the wall. Kiba was squatting on the ground with his back on the wall, his focus directly on his game. His friends were eyeing him, wondering what would happen if some authoritative figure caught him with it.

"Isn't there some camp rule against that?" pointed out Shika as he watched the brown-haired teen aggressively mash some buttons.

"You actually listened to Tsunade-obaa back there?" Chouji asked, astonished.

"Excuse me for having nothing better to do while she was droning on."

"Go, Fang!" Kiba suddenly shouted as he executed a twenty-button combo, something that would eventually cause his gaming console to break down. "Kick the Puppet Master's worthless hide!"

"Puppet Master!" gasped Kankurou. "What level is he?!"

He was ignored as his button-mashing friend continued to battle the horrific Puppet Master, obviously lost in his own little ninja world. "Next up, Helix!"

Kankurou groaned loudly in agony.

"Just look at them," scoffed Kin, who was sitting on a bench down the path, "going crazy over video games."

Tayuya snorted in reply. She was sitting beside the raven-haired girl, her head resting on the bench's back rest.

"Video games aren't just for boys, you know." The two girls looked up to see the members of Cabin G4, who were to join them for the following class, approach.

"Proves how much you know, Puffy Head," Kin addressed Mikan, the curly-haired girl.

"So a kouhai like you knows more than we do?" scoffed the ebony-haired Shinju, looking agitated already.

The caramel-haired Hana put a hand around her friend's arm, giving her a reproachful look.

"Well then," Kin replied, "name me games that were meant for girls. What? Barbie? Barney?"

"Ew, I hate Barney," Mikan snorted. "Anyway, that's not what I mean. Girls can play video games too."

"Duh," said Kin, getting up and crossing her arms over her chest. "Of course we can. Doesn't mean we should though. It's a bunch of brainless little games to keep bratty boys from causing trouble, not that it makes any difference."

Tayuya rolled her eyes. She knew how Kin never stops when she gets started on something.

"Shows what you know," snapped Mikan. Of her cabinmates, she was the most offended.

"She probably can't even play," the fourth member of the cabin, Kano said coolly. Her red-black hair was cut into a short bob. "Must be too much for her."

"Ugh," said Kin. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you gamer freaks. And you call yourselves girls."

"I am _so_ not a gamer girl," Shinju pointed out, "but I can't believe how you act as if you're the authority on what's appropriate for a girl!"

"She probably hasn't even looked at herself in a mirror," the redhead said, rolling her eyes indifferently. Unlike Mikan, who played as a hobby, Kano was a hard core gamer.

Kin almost choked at the remark. Sure, she hated being all girly, but that didn't mean she wasn't a girl, did it?

"Calm down, girls," said Hana, already starting to herd her group of friends away. She disliked video games, but was still offended at the way Kin addressed her friends.

"Bratty underclassman," added Shinju before she loped off.

"It's girls like you that make guys look down on girls," the redhead noted over her shoulder.

Mikan childishly stuck her tongue out at Kin before following her friends off.

"Way to go, losers!" Kin blurted out after them. "Can't even stick around!"

She felt Tayuya pull her down back to her seat. "Don't pick a fight with them," the pink-haired girl said.

"What? So what if they're sempai. I can take 'em."

"Ugh. You're a lot more trouble than that Karin," remarked Tayuya in a disgruntled manner.

…

One reason or another, Art class had zoomed by without much excitement for the members of cabins BG4 and BG5. Well, that is, if you ignore the little squabble between two of the students over whose collage was better. Otherwise, the students more or less tolerated each other's presences. Kayaking with Iruka-sensei was the last class of the day for Cabins B5 and G5.

**Sapphire Lake 1630 **

"You okay over there?"

"Uh, yeah, just fine… I… got… Whoa!... I'm okay! I got this!" Deidara started gasping loudly, terrified of the almost fall. Not only was he unskilled at handling a kayak – unskilled being the understatement of the year –, he easily got motion sickness on water, something his unstable little vehicle contributed immensely to. He was already starting to turn a tinge of green.

Earlier on, Iruka-sensei lectured the class on the proper handling and safety rules of the kayak for half an hour, before giving the students the rest of the afternoon to try out their kayaks, the class being the last one for the day.

"You're definitely not okay," said Sasori, paddling closer to his blond friend.

"Don't – urp – go any closer," demanded the blond teen, already bent over the side of his kayak, desperately clinging to the boat's edge.

"Deidara-sempaaaaai!"

"Tobi!" shrieked Deidara, almost hysterical. "Don't you dare come any nearer!"

"Why not?" grumbled the second-year, pouting childishly. Despite his height, this spiky-haired boy was extremely impish – much more so than his blond sempai was. His onyx eyes, as dark as his hair was, gleamed suspiciously as he eyed Deidara's situation. Slumped over position plus green complexion plus hysterics equals only one thing for Tobi: Fun with Deidara-sempai!

"Don't even think about it!" shrieked the blond upperclassman, reading the expression on the kouhai's face as clearly as if he'd outright declared his thoughts.

"Do what?" Tobi asked, grinning mischievously.

Sasori groaned. This was going to be trouble.

**Cooking Classroom 1630 **

"I thought you knew how to do that," Kiba exclaimed in mid stride, holding a wok in his hands.

"What's it to you, dogface?" snapped Kin, her grip on the knife handle tightening. She hated cooking, and joy of all joys, there they were in cooking class. And she was stuck with bird brain Kiba, his chunky pal Chouji and the Queen of all things pink Hana. And whose idea was it to assign her chopping duty? The only chopping she'd ever done was chopping up her annoying cousins' stuffed toys. And here was the bird brain, hovering over her as if he were in charge.

The brown-haired teen narrowed his eyes at her before passing the wok off to Hana, who was just passing by. Albeit confused, the caramel-haired girl went ahead and set it on the stove.

"Gimme that," he demanded, pulling up his sleeves before holding his hand out for the knife.

Kin looked at the knife and the chopping board – piled high with uneven blocks and cubes of bok choi, carrots and other vegetables – before returning her glare at him. "And why should I?"

He rolled his eyes. "Coz even though you're a girl, you've obviously had no experience doing kitchen work. And if you continue chopping the vegetables that badly, the stir fry would taste awful. And lastly, I can do better than that. In fact, I can do it excellently. Now. Hand. Me. The. Knife."

She gawked at him in shock. How dare he?! Did he just tell her she was useless? And that he could do better than her? Hell, she was a girl, yet she had no idea what to do! But a boy?! Could he?! Before she could react, he had somehow already handed off the wok, taken the knife and moved her out of the way.

She turned around and saw that he'd already thrown her work in a nearby garbage can before taking a new batch of veggies to be chopped. She was about to tell him off for it, but he had already started chopping, his mask frozen in a face of concentration. In a matter of minutes, he'd chopped up the vegetables in nice thin strips. He'd looked a similar way when he was playing video games earlier. He was focused and encased in his own private little world, something she'd never expected him to be capable of doing elsewhere.

In fact, he had been concentrating so much, he was surprised to find her still standing behind him.

"Shouldn't you be doing something else?" he asked, the tone of his voice one of authority. Oh god, who went and replaced this loser with some war general?

"I -" She couldn't even manage to finish a thought. Was she even talking to the same Kiba?

"On second thought," he said, raising both eyebrows, "go sit aside and don't do anything that'll ruin this dish. Oi, Chouji! Is the wok hot enough?" He picked up the chopping block with the neat piles of veggies on it and made his way to the stove.

Kin was frozen in place. This. Is. Not. Right. So not right.

"Kin-san," a soft-spoken voice, most obviously from their teammate Hana, said as a pair of hands started nudging her in the general direction of the sink, "I think we need to work on washing the dishes."

"Uh, whatever," she murmured before stomping off to the sink. _I'll show you good for nothing_, she silently swore.

**Sapphire Lake 1640**

The girls of G3 kept to themselves, resting their kayaks under the shade of some overhanging tree branches.

Naruto and his group were randomly breaking into short races, joking and splashing each other in between.

Sakura, Ino and Hinata had their kayaks by the port when Deidara started screaming hysterically. The upperclassman was known for his shenanigans and even more so by his overreactions. The girls easily got over the initial shock of the sudden noise and returned to their conversation.

"Are you sure you don't want to go around the lake?" Ino asked Sakura. "Even just once?"

"I'm sure. It's… uncomfortable…" The pink-haired girl looked a bit queasy, obviously enjoying the activity just as much as Deidara was. Stomach cramps were the least of her problems.

"Oh, too bad." Sakura and Hinata couldn't help detecting a false note in the blonde's voice. Her furtive glances at the boy's groups confirmed the two's suspicions.

For some reason, Ino was purposely trying to keep the girls busy elsewhere, keeping them away from the guys. Back at Art class, she had been noticeably energetic about the inert activity – collage-making wasn't exactly something she would have usually been quite perky about. She had kept both Sakura and Hinata busy enough to hamper the carnation-haired girl's possible attempts at reconciliation with her ex-friend-now-turned-enemy.

Be it because of pride or the temptation to make up with Sai thereafter, she was making it obvious that she was making sure everything stayed the same way. She was manipulative when she wanted to be, and Sakura and Hinata couldn't help playing along.

"So what do you girls want to talk about?" Ino asked.

It was at that point when Karin's kayak 'accidentally' bumped into hers.

"Hey, watch it!" exclaimed the blonde.

"Excuse me!" was the redhead's sarcastic reply. "It's not my fault you're in my way."

Ino's honey-toned eyebrows pinched together at the accusation. "I am not moving out of _your_ way."

"Ugh, even this lake's not big enough for us," muttered Karin, rolling her eyes as she tried paddling away. He oars scraped against the wood of Ino's boat for more than a few seconds as she tried to push away.

"Hey, stop that!" snapped the blonde. "You're rocking the boat-" She bent forward in irritation just as the kayak lurched in the same direction.

She didn't quite realize what was happening at first. One second, she was getting tossed about in the lurching kayak; the next, she had already lost her balance. She felt a falling sensation just before she hit the sapphire water.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Well, whaddya know? I've already enrolled in my new college! I'm in college now whoot! Sorry for the long absence… I was in Manila, miles away from home, handling my enrollment. There were computers, but they don't belong to me, so I couldn't just snag one… plus, my inspiration's been drawn far too long. Back there, I read all of _Stephenie Meyer_'s books: _Twilight_, _New Moon_, _Eclipse_ (the _Twilight_ series/saga) and _The Host_. Jacob and Ian are some of my fave characters! I can't wait for the _Twilight_ movie starring _Robert Pattinson _(EDIT: the movie was horrible!)! Anyway, _ja ne_!

**Side notes:** (1) **Lesson Learned:** Video games are not only for boys. **Genuine Fact:** Of all my classmates and friends in high school, the best gamers (_Ragnarok_ and _DOTA_) I know are _girls_. The guys would be all, "Hey, would you sell me your account?" or something to that effect. Anyway, Girl Power!

(2) In the first appearance of Mikan, Hana and Shinju, they were first-years. I edited the chapter they first showed up, so together with Kano, Kage and Rei, they're all second-years (are they juniors or sophomores? Sorry, we have a different system).

(3) _**Kouhai**_ – opposite of _sempai_; in other words, it means lowerclassman

(3) Presenting Tobi! Second-year troublemaker who's always tormenting the mischievous Deidara!

(4) FYI for those who do not or cannot experience it, stomach cramps sometimes or in some cases, more often than others, accompany periods.

(5) Stir fry anyone? Ugh, I didn't want to have to research it, but I remember how they did it in _Cooking Master Boy_. Man, I miss that show!

(6) Uh, the ending was pretty weak. Well, so much for a cliffhanger ending.


	17. Entry 14: Neutral

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 14 - Neutral**

**DAY 3**

"_Hey, Sai, what're you up to?"_

"_Uh, it's nothing really."_

"_Eh? Then why are you hiding that from me?"_

_The ebony-haired teen chuckled as he slid the mini canvas into his jacket, zipping it up._

"_It's nothing, I promise," he said, smiling as he patted the hidden item. "For the moment, that is."_

"_You're such a horrible liar," she laughed. "You will show it to me when it's done, right?"_

"_Sure, sure." _

_He smiled that perfect smile of his, sending chills down her spine. How perfect could her boyfriend be? Smart, artistic, athletic in the very least…_

_He leaned towards her, and she was mirroring his movement before she was even aware of it._

A strong impact against her face was the last thing she expected at the moment. Water blocked her nose and mouth, choking her. Her body screamed for air, and at first, she couldn't identify why.

It didn't take more than an instant later for her to realize that she was drowning and just before that realization hit, she had just been dreaming.

It was a miracle she could still think through the throbbing in her head, a weightlessness in her limbs. It didn't occur to her that she had hit her head earlier when she had fallen. Panic soaked through her deeper than the lake water did, adrenaline coursing through her veins uselessly, as she couldn't find the strength in her limbs to thrash about as she would have wished to.

_Air, I need air!_ she screamed mentally, her mind thrashing about just about as much as her body tried to.

One instant the lake water couldn't seem to stop flooding into her, and the next, she was spewing it back out like a fountain. She was breathing again – in between coughs and wheezes of course.

As the sound of her heartbeat quieted a notch, another sort of flood barraged her at full force – voices and more voices.

"Ino!" "Oi! Ino!" "Ino, are you okay?!"

She felt disoriented; the pain in her head seemed to spread. She felt something around her waist, and she clasped it tightly with both hands, shutting her eyes tight.

Are those spots behind her eyelids?

"She must've hit her head!" She heard one nondescript voice from the throng.

"Hey, we have to bring her to Shizune-sensei-"

"…You have to carry her out…"

"She might have a concussion…"

"Here – take her-"

"Tsk. And we thought the danger was going to be deeper in…"

Was the water moving around her again? Or was it _her_ moving? It was getting darker behind her eyelids. She couldn't seem to open her eyes anymo-

"Ow!" she snapped her eyes open, closing her eyes again at the glaring, bright light.

"Oh, she came to. Nice slap."

"Shut up. She's disoriented."

"I am not!" cried the blonde, feeling her cheek. "Why'd you slap me?" She opened her eyes again, and as they adjusted to the light, she turned to the source of the voices.

Obviously on a higher level of elevation were Sakura and Naruto, their bright hair colors giving them away.

"Oh, Ino-chan, we think you have a concussion." It came from the other side of the bed.

Ino slowly turned to see Hinata, also sitting higher than she was – wait, where was she? On a bed? The blonde lifted her hand to the side of her head and felt the fluffy pillow underneath it. Oh, the infirmary, right.

"You were wet too," continued Hinata, looking embarrassed now. "Sakura and I had to-"

"Don't worry, I wasn't here," Naruto assured her. "Didn't see anything."

"We had to keep you awake," explained Sakura, "in case, you know… It could be a concussion. So I've been slapping you awake… In fact, I've been slapping you since you got out of the water. Mostly you were a bit hazy…"

"What?!" Ino flew up in a sitting position, causing a dizzying sensation in her head.

A few hands helped her back down as the dizziness waxed and waned. When she felt conscious enough, she touched her cheeks. Oh man, they seemed sore. Probably even red!

"Sorry?" said Sakura.

…

"I didn't even have a concussion!" moaned Ino as her friends escorted her out of the small building, the upperclassman girls from the kayaking class meeting them as they emerged. Shizune had checked her again and assured her that other than the bruise on her head, she was fine.

She pressed her fingers gently against her sore cheeks, as if to soothe them.

"Sorry, okay?" pleaded the guilty Sakura.

"Uh, I just remembered something," said the blonde. "Who… I felt someone pulling me out of the water… I think that was an arm around my waist… who… saved me?"

"I am so sorry, Ino!" Sakura erupted suddenly. "You know how horribly I felt, and I couldn't possibly get wet and-"

"I'm so sorry, too," cut in Hinata. "It's just that I'm so horrible in the water, and I would've killed us both-"

"And you weren't rising to the surface and-"

"And you hit your head!"

"…It was awful… I should've-"

"I was so scared-"

As the two girls bombarded her with apologies, Naruto tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at a nearby wooden picnic table, where the rest of the boys in their class had gathered, talking nonchalantly. The first face she saw was Sai's, pale and white against the jet black frame of hair and deep obsidian eyes – eyes that suddenly met her gaze, something about them luring her in.

She looked away quickly. _No no! Not him!_

She turned just in time to see Naruto mouth the name, "Sui-get-su."

**Eating Area 1800 **

"And she fell! Without me doing anything yet! How stupid! Argh!"

The spring roll between Karin's chopsticks snapped in two as her grip tightened around them.

"And it was the wrong girl too," noted Kin, glaring down at her untouched plate.

"An. Accident." Tayuya snorted. "How exciting."

"It must've been the weights!" exclaimed the redhead. "There must've been too much in that Blondey's boat!"

"Ha. We put equal weights in every kayak," said Tay, taking a bite off a donut.

"_Did you_?" demanded the outraged diva, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the chopsticks tighter, as if to mold them into her hand.

Tayuya was too busy eating to care. Kin, on the other hand…

"Hell yeah, I did!" the raven-haired girl defended herself furiously, slamming her soda can on the wooden table, splashing herself and a portion of the table in the process.

"What the – what's wrong with you?!" demanded Karin, surprised. "You're not the one who got screwed today!"

"Look here, _Ojou-san_, I can't take any of your shit right now! I am out of here!" She grabbed her tray of untouched sandwich and half-spilt can of soda before storming off, not even vaguely aware of her soda-drenched state.

"What the hell was that about?!" exclaimed Karin, the sudden outburst of her black-haired companion calming her down considerably. She looked at Tayuya, expecting an answer.

"Beatsh meh," answered the pink-haired girl through a mouthful of food. She swallowed. "Something about cooking class. Must be because their stir fry tasted good or somethin'. I dunno. Don't care." She devoured another donut.

Karin looked around for once, observing her surroundings. She needed to think. To plan. To scheme. A group of students entering the clearing caught her attention.

"What the heck are they doing together?!" she suddenly exclaimed.

The group that just arrived was composed of girls of G5 and Naruto, surprisingly, with no other than Suigetsu.

…

"I'll treat you to anything on the menu today! Just add it on my tab."

"Great offer, Ino," laughed Suigetsu, "but it's the last meal of the day… if you don't count midnight snacks. In any case, I can afford dinner."

"Adding to your tab doesn't exactly feel like a free meal," commented Naruto. "Maybe a concert ticket or a dirt bike would do. He _did_ save your life after all."

Suigetsu laughed loudly. "I don't do dirt bikes."

"How about joining us for dinner then?" suggested the blonde.

"What sort of gift is that?" exclaimed the aqua-haired boy in mock despair. "That's torture!"

"Aw, come on," said Ino, hitting Suigetsu's shoulder. She turned and saw a withdrawn expression on her cabinmates' faces. "Hey, girls, what's wrong?"

Sakura looked at her blankly, shrugging. Hinata looked at the pink-haired girl worriedly.

"I have a better idea," Naruto said nonchalantly as he suddenly came up behind them, already pushing them along. "You girls go eat dinner by yourselves for now. We can meet up later for a surprise."

Suigetsu eyed him suspiciously before suddenly lighting up. "Oh, I know what you're getting at," he snickered. He faced the girls. "For compensation, you should bring lots of snacks, okay?"

"Ja ne," said Naruto running off, following the path leading back to the cabins.

"What…?" Hinata asked, puzzled.

"It's going to be a surprise," explained Suigetsu. He winked at them, smirking. "I have to help him though. Don't go off following after us, okay?" He turned and followed the blond boy's path, and he soon disappeared behind the trees.

"What was that just now?" Ino asked, looking at Sakura.

The carnation-haired girl stared after the boys as they disappeared behind the trees lining the cabin path.

**Random Path 2000**

"What are they up to?" hissed Karin as she lurked behind a grove of trees, glaring at her cabinmates as they made their way down the path. Were they planning something?

It was late, and the lights that hung overhead could only shed light on so little.

"This is getting old," grumbled Tayuya, leaning on a tree beside her redhead companion.

"First, Kin was too bagged down to join us, and these losers are driving me crazy!"

"Oh. I thought that was just paranoia," Tayuya said with a snort. Karin could drive _herself_ crazy on any given day.

Karin blocked out that comment, continuing to glower at their targets, as if to cause physical harm by doing so.

…

"Hinata-chan, stop fidgeting," scolded Ino as she waved the flashlight in the air, the beam of light emanating from it looking as if it were a reprimanding finger.

"Sorry, Ino-chan," apologized Hinata, still fidgeting, playing with the hem of her sleeve with the opposite hand. "It's just that… I-I feel as if s-someone was watching us."

The blonde outright laughed. "Nice try, Hinata-chan, but that didn't scare me."

Sakura sighed. "Ino, don't you think it's suspicious?" she remarked. "I mean…"

"That's ridiculous," replied Ino. "Where's the trust? Suigetsu did _save_ me after all, and Naruto is your _friend_."

The cherry blossom namesake merely shook her head in defeat. "Fine, then."

"I mean, they're not gonna set us up and have Sasuke and Sai with them. Puh-lease. I mean, the food would go to waste if we're just gonna end up throwing it at them." Ino shook the plastic bag heavy with snacks and drinks for emphasis.

Sakura gulped. "What?"

"Ino's just joking, right?" Hinata tried to reassure the pink-haired girl.

"_OR_ it could be a little picnic. Just the five of us. Or a date. A triple date. They could bring Yahiko-sempai." The blonde laughed at her silly thoughts. Though she was surprised to note that the first one she suggested appealed to her. Or the first one in combination with the date thing. She shuddered, shaking her head.

"Oi! There you are!" It was Naruto, farther down the path, holding up a battery-operated lantern in one hand.

Beside him was Suigetsu, waving at them, a flashlight in the other hand.

"Well, where are we going?" Ino asked excitedly. "The port? The garden? Please don't tell me it's the eating area. I'm sick of that place."

"It's a secret place," grinned Naruto.

"A secret gathering as well," added Suigetsu.

"Oh, god, don't tell me it's a cult gathering," joked Ino.

"Aw, you're spoiling the fun," said Suigetsu, pouting.

"He's kidding," his blond friend told Hinata, seeing the frightened look on her face. He held out his hand to her. "C'mon, let's go."

She timidly took his hand as he led her farther down the path. Suigetsu waved the flashlight, motioning for the other girls to follow. Sakura lagged behind like a dead weight.

They turned at an unmarked path, almost invisible from the growth of foliage engulfing it from both sides. There were no lights, so they had to depend on their flash lights and lanterns. They were getting very deep in when Sakura spoke.

"Who found this path?" she deadpanned, having resolved to hide any tone of suspicion.

Naruto hesitated. "If we told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

_That means there will be others coming as well_, mused Sakura, already pondering on what to do upon realizing who those people would be. Ino's little joke was quite discomforting.

"Don't be scared, Hinata-chan," assured Naruto the farther they went in. He squeezed her hand in assurance.

"I-I'm not s-scared," she stammered.

"You're shaking," he pointed out. He pulled her closer and put an arm around her shoulders.

Ino and Sakura looked at each other with tentative looks. What was going on?

The blond girl's head was bursting with imagination. Was it really that date? A trap? A double date? A moonlight picnic? A triple date? Oh, maybe others would come and it would be a group date! A cult ritual? A campfire? Or was there a vehicle hidden back here, and they would drive back into town?

Sounds of laughter were heard as they approached the end of the path, and Ino and Sakura once again looked at each other, wondering. What was going on?

…

"Man, can't believe you started without us!" complained Naruto as the clearing and its occupants came into view.

"Duh, you took too long!" The voice was female, loud and whiny.

"Hurry up! The food's running out!" The second voice was gruff and deep. Male.

"Hey there, Hinata-chan, Ino-chan, Sakura-chan!" It was a pretty voice, nice and soft-spoken. Another girl.

"And then he said-" This one could barely finish a sentence, already giggling uncontrollably. Boyish and loud.

"They actually came!" exclaimed a different male voice just as another said, "Whoa!"

The girls of G5 were astounded to see two wide picnic mats spread out in the middle of the clearing, set closely together with an array of different lanterns around it, lighting up the late-night picnic. A group of campers, identifiable collectively as cabins G4 and B4, sat on the mats in a circle, everyone mixing in with no consideration whatsoever for gender differences.

The redhead Rei, the fourth member of B4 and the one who was about to say the punch line of his joke between a giggling fit, sat between Hana and Shinju, the latter of which lay on her belly, propped up on her elbows, her head occasionally resting on Rei's knees when they weren't shaking from his laughter. Kankurou sat beside her, his face full of food. Kiba was next with Kano, seated beside him, teaching him a few tricks on her own FSQ gaming console. Sitting next to her were Mikan and Kage, both in the process of fighting over a bag of chocolate chip cookies just as the new arrivals appeared. Hana sat beside him, passing around the snacks she brought along as she waved at the newcomers.

"Well, let's join in," Naruto said, pulling Hinata along. They sat beside Mikan, who shoved Kage to provide space for them. He shoved her back.

Suigetsu squeezed in on Kage's other side, and Ino sat beside him, Hana to her right. The caramel-haired sempai commented on how the two _bred-winners_ of the group sat together. Ino laughed at the older girl's comment, noticing for the first time that the two of them had been the ones who brought most of the food. Hana was obviously easy to get along with. She was nice and approachable, having many friends in the other year levels.

Kano had already gotten back to showing Kiba some secret domains on the FSQ map, Kage had won the chocolate chip cookies, while Kankurou and Shinju got back to arguing over her eating habits.

"That burger would go straight to your ass."

"Shut up. Screw diets! It's Hana's fault for bringing all this food. Oh, and Ino too." Shinju leaned forward to reach for a bag of popcorn the blond girl was offering her. The raven-haired rocker chick was cool and exciting, easily labeled as 'one of the guys'.

"Ha. I'm glad we guys could care less about our weights."

"Booyah!" exclaimed Rei, giving Kankurou a high five over Shinju, who continued to devour her burger from hell. This upperclassman had short red brown hair and a contagious laugh. He loved talking nonsense and doing showy tricks. Unbelievable tales from the internet café, karate dojo and paintball arenas were his specialty.

"Shinju, eating like that is bad for your digestive tract, you know," Mikan pointed out.

"It's not my fault you choose to receive what I give," remarked Hana, who, because of her generosity, had only eaten a considerably small portion of what she had brought with her.

"Pass me those chips," Naruto said to Suigetsu, who sat a few feet away. The aqua-haired boy threw the open pack of chips at him.

Naruto caught it, but the chips poured out and spilled all over the matt. The campers stared at the mess for an instant before bursting out in collective laughter. Even Hinata couldn't help giggling despite the absurdity of it all.

And once again, after the laughter died down, everyone started talking at the same time.

"And what are you two doing here?" Ino asked Kiba and Kankurou, who sat across from her while Rei started spinning another yarn.

"Oh, we're here for the free food," remarked Kiba, waving a glazed donut in the air.

"Just watch out," added Kankurou, "coz tomorrow, we'll all be bitter enemies again."

"Naw, he's just saying that," said Shinju, reaching up to hit Kankurou on the back of his head. "We've already tamed them with our vast supply of food."

"Food? You're trying to kill with this junk," remarked Kiba, chomping on the donut.

"Bah, you're no health freak yourself," remarked Kano. Cool and collected, this secretive gamer girl was a reliable friend and sempai.

"Yeah, junk food is the way to a beast's heart," commented Mikan. "Or something like that."

"That made no sense at all," laughed Kage, erupting in a loud guffaw. He had a habit of contradicting or making fun of everything she said or did, especially since she really _does not_ make sense most of the time.

"I don't think so either," noted the curly-haired girl, laughing as well.

"You do realize I'm laughing _at you_ and not _with you_."

"Yeah, but it annoys you, so _haha_." With her dark chocolate ringlets of hair and petite physique, she looked like a child rather than an upperclassman. It was no wonder she barely cared for the boy-girl war.

"Look at them," said Karin, spying at the group from behind some bushes lining the path, "acting as if they're having _so_ much fun."

Tayuya rolled her eyes in the darkness. "Why don't _we_ do something fun?" she asked, her voice irritable. "Like not spying at them from these itchy bushes."

"Wait, something interesting's about to happen," said the redhead, peering more intently at the scene before her.

Naruto, who had been trying to pay attention to Rei's bogus tales from the opposite side of the circle, finally noticed how Sakura had been standing away from them, looking away uncomfortably, as if trying to get by unnoticed.

"Sakura-chan," he called out.

She looked up quickly and said, "Uh, I think I need to go, Naruto."

"What for?"

Some of the others suddenly turned their attention at her.

"C'mon, Cherry, sit down," said Kano, scooting over to leave some space between herself and Naruto.

"Yeah, don't be a killjoy," remarked Suigetsu.

"Kiba and Kankurou are at their best non-chauvinistic behavior," said Mikan. "I promise."

"We're safe," Kankurou assured her.

"We won't bite," added Kiba.

Sakura shook her head and headed for the dark path.

Ino was about to run after her when Hana pulled her back down. "I'll handle this," the caramel-haired girl said as she rose to her feet. She calmly followed after Sakura, obviously looking as if she knew what she was doing.

…

"Sakura-chan, you okay?"

Sakura stopped and turned to face Hana. It was disrespectful to run and hide from a sempai, and Hana was one sempai she didn't want to disrespect.

"I'm okay, Sempai."

"No, you're not. What's wrong? You're not… still mad at guys, are you?"

"No, no, I'm not… I'm just… you know, it's weird for everything just being 'normal' again."

"Being normal again? Oh, you mean…" A small smile crept on the mocha-haired girl's face, which alarmed Sakura.

"What is it, Sempai?" she asked worriedly. This girl seemed more perceptive than she would want her to be. What was she thinking just now?

Hana shook her head. "It's nothing to worry about," she said. "Everything will be just fine, Sakura-chan."

"I really don't know what you mean. I think I'll just head back to the cabin."

"Don't worry, I won't tell," said Hana, chuckling. "I'll go back now."

"Oh, wait, Hana-sempai," Sakura called out. "I don't know what you think is going on, but you probably got it wrong. I don't want you to have any wild ideas. I'm just not comfortable with the idea… yet…"

Hana smiled warmly, an impish gleam in her obsidian eyes. "Okay, whatever you say. I'll tell the others you're afraid to be late for curfew."

The pink-haired girl smiled meekly in response as the upperclassman departed. Oh great. Now she had someone else to keep her guard up against.

**Cabin B5 2300 **

"You guys are late," remarked Sasuke from his bunk as Naruto and Suigetsu sneaked through the cabin door.

"Well, isn't it supposed to be lights out already?" Naruto countered, noting that _lights out_ also meant _go to sleep_.

"Who was off wandering in the middle of the night after curfew?"

Naruto just stared back at him for a good while before answering. "We had a get-together with the other cabins. You should have gone with us."

Sasuke got up and walked to the window, pulling the curtain open. Across from their cabin were cabins G5 and G4, whose windows revealed shafts of light from between the curtains, obviously from some sort of hand-held lighting device. "And I suppose it was just a coincidence that the girls across from across us had just gotten back from a similar illegal outing."

"Give it a rest, Sasuke," said Suigetsu, climbing up the ladder to one of the double bunks. "This whole war game you all are playing is losing its appeal."

"Wait, man, that isn't your bunk," Naruto pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," said the aqua-haired teen, pulling the heavy curtain back a couple of inches. "Yo, Sai, you awake?"

"Don't bother him," said Sasuke. "He's been in there since 9 o'clock. He's obviously asleep."

Suigetsu shrugged, continuing with his message. "Hey, I have something interesting to tell you." He whispered the rest of it, the message lost behind the curtain, making sure no one else could hear. "I'm done," he said afterwards, jumping down from the ladder. "I'm worn out. Gotta get some sleep." He yawned in emphasis, though he looked alert enough to stay up for a few more hours. He climbed the correct ladder to his upper-level bunk and disappeared.

"Thanks for the concern, Sasuke," Naruto said as he sat down on his bunk beneath Sai's, "but we didn't get caught and we certainly had no intention to."

The raven-haired teen leaned on the bunk post, eyeing his blond friend. Naruto was building his way up to say something, and he wanted to _know_ what that was. Now. "Is there anything you want to say? Just spit it out already."

"Yeah, B4, G4 and G5 were with us. We invited you and Sai too, but-"

"Get straight to the point."

"Sakura left before she could join us. Before she did, she looked really uncomfortable, as if she were expecting you to arrive or something."

"What gives you, or anyone for that matter, such a ridiculous notion that I would go to such a gathering?"

"Well, maybe she didn't expect you to come, but still, she looked out of place with us. She was okay with only the girls and me. Suigetsu seemed bearable to her in the very least… Well, I was thinking that maybe she's just worried about getting used to the idea of everything being back to normal again… as if the debate never happened… without reconciling… you know…" He looked up at Sasuke, his sapphire stare a tad too serious for what his friend was used to.

Sasuke laughed darkly. "You think she wants to be _friends_ again? Well, I wouldn't call what we_ were_ friends, and I obviously believe she thinks the same way." He looked at Naruto seriously. "Stop worrying and get some sleep. Your mind is playing games with you."

"Well then why don't you join us tomorrow?"

Sasuke seemed surprise by the suggestion but couldn't help finding the challenge alluring. "We'll see." He slipped into his own bunk without another sound.

Naruto plopped down on his back, stretching out his arms. Swimming class was early tomorrow morning. Maybe the picnic wasn't such a great idea after all.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Sorry. Had this chapter sitting in my laptop for a week now.I also blame the fact that the internet is horrible here. Groan.Well, here it is.Mostly written as I was about to go to bed. Inspiration hits at such unexpected hours lol. And some of this was impromptu, all just coming together as I typed into my laptop. Ugh, I wanna write something with vampires and werewolves and maybe some body-stealing aliens. Lol _Stephenie Meyer_ much. Or maybe fairy tale crazies from _Yuki Kaori_'s _Ludwig Kakumei_.

**Side notes:** (1) I admit it is getting Ino-centric, but it'll change next chapter (I think). Anyway, the manga is getting Sasuke-centric, so ya just gotta deal with that for a while too.

(2) I hate writing romance. That dream part is proof. I suck.

(3) Okay, I've only experienced drowning about three or four times, and all I can say is, I remember not being able to breathe and gasping for air and losing the sand under my feet when that damn wave pulled me in that time we were at the beach. And oh yeah, lots of water. There was also this time I went down a water slide so fast, I ended up puking from swallowing so much water. I hate water. I can't even swim because of that fear. Ugh.

(4) Also, all I know about concussions is that your brain's been banged up against your skull, and people have to keep you awake. And by the way, spots in your eyesight are never a good indication, coming from someone who has migraines a lot. I dunno what Ino had, but let's just say it's not a concussion. Man, I'm lazy at researching.

(5) Remember how Kin acted when Tayuya and Kankurou were shouting at each other? She felt as if she had been excluded, and as soon as she felt that way, she hurried off somewhere else. Last chapter, the girls of G4 had embarrassed her, thus her "Way to go, losers" comment. She thinks she's tough and all that, but when she's excluded, embarrassed or put down, it really gets to her.

(6) Anyway, seems as if Ino is enjoying Cabin set 4's company, eh? And Kankurou and Kiba were quite behaved this time around. Things are getting more "normal" around here. Or maybe Ino was only really just upset over one person and one person alone…

**A little description of my OC's:** (No need to read if not interested) It gets confusing since most of you don't know them as well as I do, so here are descriptions of my OC's.

**Mikan** is short and seems 'smaller' than most. She has long dark-chocolate-brown curly hair and emerald eyes. She wears no bangs, exposing a wide forehead. She wears comfortable clothes and has little or lack of fashion interest. **Personality:** Yes, she's a lot like me, childish, loud and prone to picking fights; loves to get physical (e.g. likes to hit, poke or tackle people). She loves manga and anime and can be seen sketching, doodling, writing stories (fan fiction), playing FSQ when not fighting with Kage or hanging out with friends.

**Hana** is the tallest member of G4 and has black eyes and long mocha-colored hair usually parted to one side and usually worn loose or pulled up in a ponytail. She is fashionable, but handles herself maturely. **Personality: **Based on _Swatangel_, she ismore matureat times, but she has a childish side (she loves talking like a little kid sometimes). She is friendly, generous and approachable. She is a closet fan fiction queen (more obsessed than Mikan) and usually supplies the snacks for everyone.

**Shinju** has long black hair (not quite as long as Rin's) with bangs that fall over one eye. Her eyes are red-brown (a tribute to Itachi lol). She dresses like a rocker: bangles, three earrings on each ear, ethnic accessories and camo pants once in a while. **Personality: **Based on _khazyshinju_, she iscool and exciting. She isn't into girly things and labeled as 'one of the guys'. She is agreeable, yet stubborn when it comes to what she likes. She has a crush on Itachi lol.

**Kano** has black-red hair in a bob and deep-set violet eyes. She wears mascara and dresses a bit like a goth: long sleeves, loose pants, dark colors and no pink. **Personality: **Like _Kitty_, she is a bit of a goth chick and also a bit emo. She is quiet and often keeps to herself. She has a cute side, like a kitty, and she rules in video games and is often better at it than most guys.

**Kage** has amber eyes and short yet spiky black hair. He has spiky bangs on the right side of his face. He dresses mostly in black, gray and other dull colors (he hates bright colors, especially orange, which is Mikan's favorite color) and always wears simple wardrobe with vintage print. **Personality: **A combination of many of my fave anime guys, he's more of an anti-hero lol.He is smart, but also cocky and annoying. He loves getting the better of Mikan. They're mortal enemies.

**Rei** isn't as tall as Kage and most guys are (a bit like Naruto), but he dresses in loose sweatshirts or jerseys, making him look shorter than he really is. He has red-brown hair with bangs almost reaching to his eyes, which are brown in color (he was originally designed to be a Hyuuga though). **Personality: **Not based on anyone I know, he is childish and funny, but he says a lot of corny jokes. He likes telling weird stories that most people enjoy for his weird and over-the-top actions and expressions. He is friendly and never takes offense.

That's all, I guess. I don't want to describe other passing OC's. They're boring and based on actual anime characters. Ugh.

…

**Next Time:** _"Why? Did something happen?" Kakashi had a dubious expression, one rarely seen on his usually carefree face._

"_Nothing's wrong, Sensei," Replied Ino._


	18. Entry 15: Evasion

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**A/N: **Sorry for having too many OC's. I'll use more canon characters more often.

**CHAPTER 15 - Evasion**

**DAY 4**

**Old Port 0600 **

When Ebisu arrived, he immediately sent the campers to do warm-ups, assigning Suigetsu to lead. Those who were late were made to do extra.

"Excuse me, Sensei, do you mind if I don't swim?" Ebisu turned and saw that it was Ino who had asked, giving him her pretty little grin.

"Hm. Last time you were in the water, you almost drowned," he noted, his hand on his chin. "It was a good thing Suigetsu's group was heading your way. Your Iruka-sensei had me look after you kids in the deeper part of the lake. He was busy patrolling the shoreline. I don't know what would've happened if our school's star swimmer hadn't come to save the day."

"Well, does that mean I can skip activities today?"

"Nope. But stick to the port; this time, I'll be nearby." Apparently, _skip_ was the wrong word to use on him. "Now go back to your warm-ups!"

"Man, I feel awful," complained Kankurou as he did some slow half-hearted warm-ups. He placed a hand over his abdominal area. Though, it didn't look it, his stomach was under protest from last night's binging. "I shouldn't have taken that extra tart."

"You shouldn't have eaten the entire _box_ of tarts," pointed out Kiba, stretching beside his friend.

"Why're you so peachy?" was Kankurou's sarcastic reply.

"I drank something to prevent getting stomach ache."

"Well, why didn't you give me any?"

"What? I didn't even know how you felt. You woke up late, remember?"

"Well, gimme some."

"I don't have any on me right now. Besides, it takes an hour to take effect."

Kankurou turned towards Ebisu, who was busy checking the other swimmers. "Sensei! Can I be excused?" he called out. "I don't feel so good."

"Let's see about that later when you're in the water," replied the shades-wearing teacher. "Just do your warm-ups already."

The brown-haired upperclassman glared at his apologetic friend.

"C'mon, gimme a break," said Kiba. "I didn't know."

"Suigetsu, can you do less rigorous warm-ups?" Shinju asked, her hands resting on her knees as she tried catching her breath. Beside her, Hana and Mikan were on the floor, looking as if they both needed more oxygen as well.

"Oh, sorry," he said. He saw that most of the class had been thoroughly tired by the exercise. The most obviously unaffected were Sasuke and Sai, who had more sleep last night than everyone else. Plus the fact that they didn't have junk food crammed into their systems. The star swimmer was in perfect condition as usual, the last night's merry-making doing little to bring him down. His fast metabolism helped.

Naruto, Kiba, Kage and Sakura looked better than the rest as well, though not in any way as well as the aforementioned were doing. They either had better body conditions than the others, or, for Sakura's case, did not have the same stress from last night's excessive chuck fest.

"I guess that workout was enough," Suigetsu said to Ebisu. "You think so, Sensei?"

"Okay, that'll be all for warm-ups then," said their teacher, fixing up his sunglasses. "Get into the water!"

"Sakura, can we talk?" Ino asked after her best friend as she descended into the water after her.

"Oh, maybe later, Ino," replied the other girl as she started swimming away.

The blonde couldn't help staring after her friend in disbelief. She was acting weird for some reason.

"Ino-chan!" Ino looked up to see Mikan looking down at her from the edge of the port, clutching on to the wooden edge as if her life depended on it.

"What is it, Sempai?"

"How deep is it there?"

Ino let herself sink until her feet touched the lake floor. When she resurfaced, she said, "About six feet, Mikan-sempai."

"Eh?" groaned the chocolate-haired girl.

"What's wrong, Fluffy Head? Afraid to swim?" asked Kage as he squatted down beside her. "Don't worry, there's always the green pond by the garden. I heard it's pretty shallow – Whoa!"

The curly-haired girl had suddenly reared up to ram into him, almost sending him into the lake.

"What was that for, you little brat?!" he demanded.

"Coz you're such a jerk," she answered back. "You know I can't swim very well."

"_Very well_?" He snorted. "Try _not at all_. You sink like a rock."

As the two continued to bicker, Ino tried to get a hold of her pink-haired friend.

**Eating Area 0830 **

"Hey, guys," Ino greeted as she neared the table. "Have you, by any chance, seen Sakura?"

All eight members of G4 and B4 were there, even Kiba and Kankurou, who obviously didn't follow up on their word the previous night.

"Not since swimming class," replied Hana.

"Oh, yeah, you talked to her last night, didn't you? Did she say… anything?"

"Nope, not really." Well, it _was_ true. Sakura did, in fact, say nothing of that sort.

"Well, she's been avoiding me this morning… I was wondering if something happened."

"Maybe she hated being around us guys," Kankurou said pointedly.

"Says the guy who hates girls. What are you still doing here anyway? What happened to _going back_ to being bitter enemies again?"

"It's the food," Kiba insisted.

Hana laughed. "You guys owe me for all the stuff you took just now. Last night may have been free, but there's no way I'm letting you get away with mooching off me this time."

"Yeah, right," said Kankurou. "Don't believe you."

"Neither do we," laughed Shinju.

The mocha-haired girl groaned. "Fine, you got me. Ino-chan, want to join us?"

"It's eight thirty," said the blonde. "I don't think it's time for that…" She looked at the mass of food on the wooden table. After last night, she couldn't stand looking at that much food anymore.

"What are you talking about?" said Rei. "It's always time for some food." He took a bite off of a dumpling.

"You shouldn't have eaten that much last night," Mikan said, addressing Ino.

"That's coming from the girl who ate some of everything last night," remarked Kage.

Mikan took a sandwich slice and crammed it into his mouth. He took it out and smacked her on the back of the head.

"Uh… I think I'll go look for Sakura," said Ino, in a hurry to leave, especially with that much food tempting her. "Later."

**Art Class Cabin 0900 **

"No, I haven't seen her…" the junior girl said, shaking her head, her shoulder-length pink-brown hair bouncing behind her as she did so. "Sorry."

"Thanks, Chi-san," sighed Ino. The other G3 girls, Kira, Saki and Miyo hadn't seen her either. Neither did the G1 girls.

"Maybe you can ask the boys," suggested Kurenai, who was in charge of art the class. The members of G3, B3, B1 and G1 were scattered across the open space outside the art cabin, where they were working on their art project for the class using natural materials. They could see the members of B3, who were composed of seniors and a junior.

"Thanks, Sensei. I think I'll do that." Ino marched ahead to go ask them. "Hey, guys, how're ya?"

The boys of B2 stared up at her in confusion.

"Ino, are you talking to _us_?" asked Deidara, bending over his art work on the grass. Sasori, sitting beside him, had the same curious expression on his face.

"Yeah, of course. Why not?" Then it struck her. They didn't expect her to talk to them after that brilliant show during the acquaintance party. She'd been real loud during the debate, as if demanding for blood. Of course she shouldn't have been speaking to them! "Uh, never mind that. I'm speaking to you right now, right? Anyway, I'm looking for Sakura. Have you seen where she went?"

The sempai shook their heads.

"Thanks anyway, Deidara-sempai, Sasori-sempai. How about you, Tobi-sempai? Shuu-sempai?"

The dark-haired Shuu shook his head without even looking up from his work. Tobi, on the other hand, started waving both arms excitedly in the air.

"Ooh, ooh, I know!" he volunteered. "I saw her head off to the Wall when we were on our way here!"

"Uh, thanks, Tobi-sempai," replied Ino, a bit taken by his juvenile actions.

"Don't call me sempai," he groaned. "That sounds weird."

She could see Deidara slapping a hand on his face at his cabinmate's childish behavior.

"Oh, okay."

"Are you done?" Kurenai asked as the girl headed out.

"Yeah, Sensei," replied the blonde, "thanks a lot. Sorry for disrupting your class."

"Not at all," replied the raven-haired woman. "It's more of an informal class anyway. Carry on now."

**The Wall 0955 **

"Sakura?" asked Kakashi, watching his students climb. "Nah, didn't see her."

"Oh, okay…" replied Ino.

"Why? Did something happen?" He had a dubious expression, one rarely seen on his usually carefree face.

Kakashi usually cared less about what was going on. Why'd he choose now to be attentive?

"Nothing's wrong, Sensei."

"Okay…" he turned back to his students. "Yahiko, watch out for that hold – it's not stable."

"It's almost time for class," Ino said hurriedly, glancing at her watch. "Gotta go."

**Husbandry Class 1000 **

"Sakura has been avoiding me all morning," complained Ino, suspiciously eyeing her said friend, who was asking Yamato-sensei for some help with something.

"Uh-huh," Suigetsu replied absent-mindedly as he scrubbed the chicken feeder under the running faucet, while she had a disgruntled chicken in her hands, oblivious to its struggle to break free.

"I mean, the least she could do was walk with me between classes, but she somehow managed to disappear. She is _so_ avoiding me. What is up with that-"

"Uh, Ino, your chicken." The aqua-haired boy pointed to her restless animal, clucking and flapping its wings in annoyance.

"Whoops," she said, easing her hold on the impatient creature. "Ugh, gotta put you in your pen."

"It's still early, you know," said Suigetsu. "Maybe she'll come around to talking to you… You were talking to me, right? That is, unless that is, you were talking to yourself. You weren't talking to yourself, were you?"

"No, I wasn't," replied Ino, taken off guard. "Why wouldn't I be? I mean, why wouldn't I be talking to you?"

"Well, Sakura and Naruto aren't here. You don't have to."

"Well, you did _save_ me…"

"Sure, sure…" He shook the dripping feeder of the excess water and walked off.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked herself as she headed for the pen, doubting the tone of his voice. The chicken started clucking impatiently again, in a hurry to be put down.

Yamato, also in charge of the animal husbandry class, had given them all separate tasks to do, ranging from cleaning up the coops to feeding the animals. Ino was supposed to transfer some of the chickens to the pen from their coop, which some of the students were cleaning up, but she had taken a quick little detour when her mind wandered back to her friend's strange behavior.

The blonde groaned and placed the fowl in the pen. She had transported a few more by the time she found Sakura, finally no longer occupied with any of the meandering tasks. She took off her gloves and headed towards her pink-haired friend, waving her hand. "Oi! Sakura!"

The said girl just nodded her head in response before walking off to aid another classmate with cleaning up some equipment.

"What the?" was all Ino could mutter as her friend eluded her once again. She was _definitely_ avoiding her.

"This is interesting," murmured Karin as she viewed the scene from a distance, her glasses glinting in excitement. "Something must be up – whoa!"

She jumped to her feet in surprise as a duck pecked at her outstretched hand. She was supposed to be feeding them before her attention had strayed off.

"Why you little!" she shrieked at the offending animal, as they started causing a ruckus, quacking and spreading their wings at her, as if to intimidate her.

"Stop aggravating the ducks," scolded Gaara, who had been feeding them as well.

"What? If you care about these pests so much, go feed them yourselves!" she demanded, wading through the violent throng of birds and climbing over the pen.

"Not really," he replied. "It's just very annoying."

She rolled her eyes and dumped the remaining feed at the ducks, distracting them enough to forget about her, for the moment at least. "There! Happy now?" She turned and marched off.

**Nurse's Office 1230 **

"Sakura? Yeah, she was here for a while," said Shizune, sitting at her desk. "I think she just came from husbandry class. But she left about a minute ago."

"Did she look… different?" asked Ino. "Like upset or something?"

"No, not all. She looked fine." A worried look appeared on the nurse's usually cheerful face. "Is anything wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," laughed Ino, a bit too forcefully. "We'll be going now. Let's go, Hinata."

Hinata followed after in confusion. Sakura wasn't the only one acting strange. So was Ino.

**Volleyball Court 1240 **

"Anko-sensei, can we ask you something?"

"What sort of question is that?" the purple-haired teacher asked back, eyeing the two girls harshly. "You're already asking me one."

"Sorry, Sensei," gulped Hinata, half-hiding behind Ino in fear of the intimidating teacher.

Anko directed her gaze to the students playing volleyball on the court and said, "That's enough practice. Mandatory five-minute break!"

As soon as she said this, some of the campers fell on their knees or behinds in exhaustion. The two girls from G5 shuddered. They had volleyball class under her tomorrow.

"Well, what's the question?" she demanded.

"Have you… seen Sakura?" the blond girl asked, ready to bolt lest the crazy teacher decided to pounce at her at the least provocation.

"Hmph. Is that all you were gonna ask?" Ino almost fled at that point. "Yeah, saw her a while ago. Just passing by. Probably headed for the greenhouse or something." She faced her students again. "Five minute's over! Back to work!"

"But, Sensei-"

"The five minutes wasn't up" would've been what that student wanted to say, but a vicious glare from Anko sent them scurrying back to their positions.

"Okay, later, Sensei," Ino said hurriedly as she and Hinata edged away before running for their lives. Volleyball class was definitely going to be hell tomorrow.

**Greenhouse 1242**

"What was wrong with her?" Ino exclaimed over the loud heartbeat thumping behind her ears as she leaned against the greenhouse for support. That Anko scared the heck out of her. She and Hinata had run all the way to the greenhouse, scared to death. "She's absolutely crazy!"

Beside her, Hinata was squatting against the same wall, breathing hard and looking as if she was going to burst into tears any second now.

When they finally calmed down, Ino slid down to the ground beside her friend. "I think I want to skip volleyball class tomorrow. What do you think, Hinata-chan?"

"I-I t-think I sh-should g-go with y-you," she stammered in reply, hugging her knees.

The blonde laughed loudly. "Yeah, maybe we should." She got up. "Let's go look for Sakura then."

"Anko-sensei said she might be in here," said the dark-haired girl, pointing at the greenhouse.

"Yeah, right," said Ino. "Why would she want to go in-" An old memory came flashing through her mind.

"_Ino, I don't think we should be going i-" Sakura gasped as she took in the splash of colors. The greenhouse was gorgeous – it was stocked with various colorful blossoms, climbing vines on the glass and adorable little bonsai resembling grown willows. A few trees dotted the horizon, but did little to take away the attention from the awesome display._

"_Wow, there's even some birds of paradise here," chirped Ino. As the daughter of owners of a flower business, she knew her flowers well. "Sai gave me some whe-" She stopped, looking sordidly at the flower. "Let's just go." She marched off, leaving the greenhouse._

"_Ino!" Sakura called after her. "The greenhouse-"_

"_We can see it when we have gardening with Yamato-sensei."_

_Her pink-haired friend caught up with her and pulled her back. "Are you okay?"_

_The blonde nodded her head, the tears threatening to fall. "I – I just miss him… that's all…"_

Ino gave herself a mental slap for not remembering that sooner. On the other hand, how clever of Sakura to hide in the greenhouse, where she knew her blond friend would never go to. Gardening class was held in the vegetable gardens, and the blonde would have never gone back inside for any other reason. Sakura was definitely trying to avoid her.

"What's wrong, Ino-chan?" Hinata asked as Ino got up brusquely, stomping off towards the greenhouse entrance.

"Sakura!" shouted the blonde as she marched through the greenhouse doors. She looked around hastily, marching down the rock-lined path. "Where. Are. You."

Hinata followed after her cautiously, wary of what might ensue.

Ino finally spotted the birds-of-paradise behind a row of cosmos and headed towards them. There she found, sitting on the ground beside the colorful flowers with her chin tucked between her knees, was Sakura, an arm around her folded legs and one of the blooms in one hand.

"You know, you're not supposed to pick flowers in here!" scolded the blonde, crossing her arms across her chest and planting her feet firmly on the ground. It didn't matter if it was _that_ plant; as long as it was a flower, she didn't like anyone abusing them.

"I didn't pick it," Sakura replied defensively. "I picked it from the ground."

The blond sat down beside her friend, her back against the said flowers. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I was _not_ avoiding you," replied the carnation-haired girl, looking away.

"You're not even meeting my gaze. You're hiding something. Spill!"

Hinata arrived then, choosing to stay behind the cosmos, as she wasn't part of the discussion.

"I'm not hiding _anything_." Sakura got up. "I need to go."

"No, you don't." Ino grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her back down. "It's lunch time. You _do not_ need to go anywhere."

Sakura pulled against her friend's hold, but the unyielding grip pulled her back down to the ground. "Fine," she sighed.

"Now, tell me why you were avoiding me."

"I wasn't avoiding you."

"The birds-of-paradise?" Ino asked skeptically, her nose wrinkling in disgust at her friend's attempt at throwing her off.

"_Okay_, so I was overdoing it. I just wanted some time alone… to think…"

"What? You can't even confide in me, your best friend?"

"Ino-chan," interrupted Hinata as she emerged from behind the cosmos, "I think Sakura-chan has a good reason for avoiding us. Right, Sakura-chan?"

"Well, let's hear it," said Ino.

"Sorry, it's just…" The pink-haired girl sighed yet again. "Well, everything's been really awful, remember? And suddenly, everything's… last night was… and everyone was…"

"Happy? Back to normal?" supplied the blonde. "What you see on the surface can be deceiving, you know. Tomorrow, someone may start up more trouble."

Sakura fiddled with her fingers nervously. "Yeah… but, I was thinking… It really is about time to set things straight…"

Ino rolled her eyes. "No, it's not. It's only been two days since the debate! Today's just the third day since then, and you think it'll all be peachy again?"

"Ino-chan, if I may…" Hinata said. "You _have_ been acting more casually around guys… Even the guys would think so."

The blonde ignored that and continued. "It's just the eye of the storm…" she insisted. "It could get worse."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sakura. "Even _you_ could get over it. You did say you have nothing against the guys… Just you and-"

"Who said I was over it?"

"Your actions speak for you," pointed out Sakura. "Unless, of course, you're not over-"

"Could you quit that?" snapped the blonde. "Could you not try and pull that off every single time? I am _so_ over Sai, I'm sure of it. As for this little fiasco, I'm sure trying to reconcile with that so-called friend of yours will just lead to more trouble. Can't you see that it won't do you any good?"

"How can you be so sure?"

The two girls glared at each other for a while before Ino jumped to her feet and stomped out of the greenhouse. Sakura glared at the ground.

"Sakura-chan…" started Hinata.

"I'm okay now," replied the pink-haired girl. She got up and headed for the door. "I doubt Ino is though…"

**END OF CHAPTER**

…

**Author's note: **The internet's been horrible lately. The Wi-Fi been's going nuts, and so was the DSL. With my little cousin's Simpsons mania, every image in my head has been Simpsonized. Especially with that crazy Simpson-version of the Naruto cast of characters I saw. That was totally hilarious! Now I can't imagine them in Kishimoto-style!

**Side notes:** (1) Ever experienced non-stop eating well into the night? And waking up with such a heavy stomach you risk getting dyspepsia? Getting your intestines clogged from overeating? Yeah, I have… It was horrible… I couldn't move well for a while…

(2) Yeah, just like Mikan, I can't swim very well. I can just swim from one end of a pool to the other. But I can't float. I usually sink. And drown. Many times.

(3) Like Hana, _Swatangel_, whom I based Hana on, does bring all the food for us. She is really generous, and she doesn't mind us mooching off her. _Swatangel_, if you're reading this, don't flame me, 'kay?

(4) The girls of G3 are unimportant. Don't mind them.

(5) The guys actually noticed how Ino's changed, yet she's in denial. Uh, unbelievable, I know.

(6) No animals were harmed during the visualization of this fictional story. I have grown up with neighbors raising chickens, ducks, carabaos and the occasional pigs. Farm girl, maybe. But I have never raised any poultry or other farm animals before, that I am sure of. But I have watched loads of animal husbandry videos for our humanities subject back in elementary.

(7) Volleyball and Anko shall come up soon!

(8) Birds-of-paradise are pretty cute and colorful, but they're better on the plant or in a vase.

**Next time:**

"_Are you sure you don't want to climb yet?" Naruto asked cautiously._

"_Nice sales pitch," commented Suigetsu._

**A/N:** It's the Wall again! Watch out!


	19. Entry 16: Reversal

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 16 - Reversal**

**DAY 4**

**Archery Range 1400**

"They're at it again," groaned Naruto as he watched the brothers battle it out once again over who could get the most bulls-eyes.

"This is getting boring…" remarked Suigetsu. "What we need is some crazy loon stirring up some trouble."

"You ask for too much," remarked Sakura.

"Do I?"

"You love trouble, don't you?"

"You notice that just now?"

Sakura raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Mind telling us what's wrong with Little Miss Sunshine?"

Sakura followed his gaze towards the other end of the archery range, where she saw Ino, who was surprisingly focused at the task at hand. No Yahiko, No Nagato. It almost seemed as if she had turned her back on everyone.

"She wouldn't even look at us," said Naruto.

"She bumped into me and didn't even notice," added Suigetsu.

"Did something happen?"

The cherry blossom namesake recalled what happened next after the confrontation in the greenhouse. When she and Hinata arrived at the eating area, they found her sitting with a different set of girls, a group of upperclassmen they were not even the least bit aware she was friends with.

After finishing her lunch, Ino had fled from the area as if a plague were after her. She was definitely avoiding them and making it crystal clear at that.

"Yes, I suppose," admitted Sakura. "She's been avoiding me as well."

"Oh, _that_ bad," remarked Suigetsu.

"What _did_ happen?" asked Naruto.

"Well, it's a long story-"

"Oi! Students, get back to work!" reprimanded Asuma. "NOW."

"Maybe later," Sakura told the boys.

The group dispersed and returned to their assigned target areas. Sakura had a hard time concentrating though and did almost as badly as she had last time.

"What is it this time? Digestive tract trouble?"

"I wish." Sakura was surprised by her casual reply. These past days, that insidious voice would have made her furiously respond with a smart retort or stutter out a lame excuse to flee. Not today. "Sasuke."

She turned to see that he'd started, as if her casual use of his name surprised him.

"Well, actually-" she continued.

"Oi, Sasuke." The two were surprised as Itachi suddenly came up, like a shadow looming over his younger brother's shoulder. He was about to say something when he noticed Sakura. "Oh, did I just interrupt something?"

"Uh, n-nothing, Itachi-sempai," stammered Sakura. She can't say talk to him in front of _his brother_. She turned away and grabbed her bow, getting back to the activity and doing way worse than before.

"Uh, I think your friend needs some help," she heard the raven-haired upperclassman tell his brother. She was thankful that Sasuke was able to change the subject to some other frivolous matter they could bicker over instead of turning both their attentions on her.

Seeing the brothers quarrelling reminded her of how little the feud had affected Sasuke. He'd just acted as obnoxiously as he had before. She was the only one who overreacted. And yet, she was the one who wanted things back to normal. Pathetic. Just pathetic. She was aware of just how pathetic she was, yet she was willing to stoop that low. What happened to her pride? Down the drain, most likely.

She kept watch for any indication of the quarrel to stop in her peripheral vision. She was certain it would be embarrassing, but getting it over with was her only consolation.

**The Wall 1600 **

Archery class dragged on without much progress for Sakura. So did wall climbing class.

"Are you sure you don't want to climb yet?" Naruto asked cautiously, watching out for the littlest indication of his friend's fear of heights kicking in. "We can do it slowly. In fact, you don't have to go all the way to the top. By the end of this camp, we'll have you climbing to the top in no time!"

"Nice sales pitch," commented Suigetsu with a laugh.

"And I'm not buying," said Sakura, crossing her arms. "Maybe later." She eyed the wall furtively, gulping. "I'll stick to belaying."

Kakashi had been kind enough to let them pick their own partners. One would climb, while the partner belays for them, and they could switch soon after. Meanwhile, their sensei watched for all of them. Hana had asked if that was safe for only one person to do all the watching, but he just responded with a "Don't worry. Shimpaisurunda. I have eyes everywhere," which worried some of the students.

"Okay, Shinju-san, ready?" Sakura asked her partner, who was already by the wall.

"Yeah, yeah." The raven-haired girl firmly gripped a couple of the plastic moldings, her leg on the nearest foothold. "Climbing."

"Climb on," said Sakura, having already checked the rope for any possible slack.

She watched her partner cautiously make her way up. She recalled what happened when Kakashi-sensei told them they could choose their own partner. The automatic partner for her should have been Ino, as it always was. But the blonde had swiftly chosen Hinata as a partner. Mikan and Hana always teamed up, and so did Kiba and Kankurou. Naruto would obviously take Sasuke as his partner, while Rei teamed up with Suigetsu and Kage with Sai.

Well, the way people were teaming up, Shinju would've paired up with her cabinmate Kano, leaving Sakura with Karin. The sempais must've felt sorry for her, because they compromised and Kano took Karin as a partner, leaving the all-too-excited Shinju as Sakura's. The cherry blossom namesake could easily tell what her raven-haired upperclassman thought about Karin. Thank god Kano was a saint. If it was any consolation, at least Karin was bound to behave, being in class and all.

Shinju climbed carefully, checking each grip-hold and adjusting her body to every move. When they'd partnered up, she had warned the pink-haired girl that she wasn't quite comfortable with heights and would take her time to reach the top. She was very anxious about it, but she persevered. She avoided the unstable holds, passing them off for other possible ones. She was doing a slow crawl, which her belayer was actually thankful of.

Sakura envied her. If her sempai could do it, why can't she?

_If I can handle this_, she silently resolved, _then I'll be able to handle talking to Sasuke_.

Shinju took her time and managed to reach the top at an even pace. She stopped, breathing deeply.

"Sempai, you okay?" Sakura called out.

"I'm fine," replied the ebony-haired girl. "I just need to do something."

She turned her head and peered downward. She blinked a few times, as if disoriented by the distance.

"Booyah!" she exclaimed suddenly, punching the air with a fist. "Whoot! I did it!" She tapped the wall.

Sakura eased her down the wall.

"That wasn't so bad," said Shinju as Sakura helped her out of her harness. "You should try it some time," she laughed.

"Maybe I should." The pink-haired girl smiled.

"Okay. Do you want some more time? I could… climb some more."

"No, now's just as good as any time. I need to do this."

They switched, and Shinju strapped Sakura into the harness.

"Good luck," said the upperclassman, moving towards the belayer's position.

"I can do this," Sakura told herself. Heights had always been an issue for her. The fear of falling overcame any logical thought in what was supposed to be a very logical head. Fear had always been illogical and easily threw her into bouts with herself. It was time to get over this fear.

She took in a deep breath, clutching the necessary grip-holds on the wall. "Okay, climbing."

Shinju tugged at the climbing rope and found it tight enough. "Okay, good luck, Sakura-chan. Climb on."

**Cabin Path 1830 **

"Sakura-chan, you did great," said Hinata as they headed down the path towards their cabins. "How many times did you climb?"

The pink-haired girl shrugged, a faint blush on her face. "Oh, I don't know. I lost count."

She and Shinju climbed alternately at their snail's pace. Her partner had been very encouraging every time she climbed, and the other G4 girls had joined in on the cheering as well. They were slow, but they asked Kakashi if they could extend their session, even after he announced that it was time to call it a day. Most of the boys had tired themselves with their quick paces (some of the girls insisted that they were faster only because they were taller) and had left when their sensei said they finally could.

It was already getting dark when the remaining girls left the Wall.

"Sakura was on fire!" proclaimed Shinju, patting the said girl on the back.

"Sempai…" groaned Sakura, embarrassed.

"I can't believe you guys climbed so much," said Mikan. "My arms hurt so bad."

"That's because you were going too fast," remarked Hana. "You should've taken it slow."

"But it was _so_ fun going _so_ fast," whined the curly-haired girl. "I want to climb some more."

"Not if your arms hurt like that," noted Kano.

They quieted down, and Sakura turned to Hinata. "How'd you do, Hinata-chan?"

"So-so," replied the dark-haired girl. "Naruto stayed behind a bit to help…" She was blushing before she was even aware of it.

Shinju gave a backward whistle. The other G4 girls looked at her as well.

Seeing their attention directed at her made her blush more. "W-what?" she stammered.

"The question exactly," said Shinju. "What's with you and Mr. Congeniality? You two have been extra friendly lately…"

Her cabinmates nodded in agreement. Sakura didn't like the direction the conversation was taking. "Um, girls, maybe we should put this topic off for a while."

"Sure," Hana was first to say, the familiar perceptive smile on her face. The others nodded in understanding. They won't push for information now, but they would do it in a heartbeat the next time they had a chance.

"How was Ino as your partner?" Shinju asked. "For some reason, she looked as if she was avoiding you girls earlier. Or was it just me?"

"Just fine," said Hinata. "And… she wasn't… avoiding us. She just… got here earlier…"

The hesitation in her statement easily gave her away. "Uh-huh," was the raven-haired sempai's reply.

Hana turned towards Sakura. "Care to elaborate on that?"

The pink-haired girl sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll tell you guys… maybe later though… After dinner?"

"At our cabin it is," concluded Mikan. When Sakura looked at her doubtfully, she added, "What? It's not like we have _other_ cabinmates," most obviously referring to a certain redhead diva.

"Okay, we'll be there." It really was about time to talk to someone about this.

**Cabins **

A loud commotion welcomed them as they arrived at the cabins. The girls of G3 came running out of their cabins, screaming, just as they passed.

"Eew!" "Gross!"

Other campers gathered around them in curiosity, eager to know what the ruckus was about.

The girls were incoherent though, all of them talking at the same time.

"It was horrible!" "Slugs!" "Everywhere!"

"Calm down," said Sakura, pushing through the crowd of confused bystanders. "One at a time."

It took some time for the G3 girls to calm down, but by then, they were too out of breath to speak.

"Someone put slugs in our bathroom." It was Kira, the calmest member of G3. The short girl with brown bobbed hair had been the only one who wasn't overreacting, and most of the curious bystanders had overlooked her.

This time, it was the onlookers who started a loud babble. Everyone talked at the same time, asking and probing for details.

"Sakura, over here," the pink-haired girl heard Hana call for her over the throngs of voices. She pushed her way through the crowd and found her sempai motioning for her to follow her towards Cabin G3, where Kano and Hinata were already waiting at the door.

Hana signaled for them to be quiet and led them all in, where Mikan and Shinju were already standing at the bathroom door, holding the door half-open. Shinju nodded her head at Mikan, and they stepped aside to let the others see inside.

As soon as the others peered in, they recoiled back. Numerous slugs were slithering up and down the wall, their dark color contrasting heavily against the white wall tiles. They were huge, as big as fists at most, and incredibly slimy, their trails evident in the fluorescent light.

"Twenty five slimy slugs," said Mikan, "in the very least."

"Left a trail leading away from the window," noted Shinju.

"We should go," said Sakura, feeling a little queasy, already making her way to the door before the cabin's occupants returned.

**Cabin G4 1930 **

"Are boys even allowed in here?" asked Hinata as Kage and Rei took their seats in the human circle on the cabin floor. A girls' cabin didn't exactly have a 'Boys Welcome' sign on it.

"If I were gay, would you ask that?" asked Rei.

Hinata merely looked at him, surprised by his inquiry.

"Okay then, I'm gay." He held his hand out, palm down and bent at the wrist. "Well, what're we talking about, girls?" he asked in a falsetto, fluttering his eyes convincingly.

The girls laughed, amused by his little charade.

"If that's the case," Kage said, getting up, "I'm outta here."

Before he could even stand up properly, Mikan grabbed his shirt with both hands and forcefully pulled him back on the floor. "Oh, no, you don't! You're not going anywhere! You will stay _voluntarily_, or we will strap you to a chair and turn you into a girl! I'm warning you; Hana has makeup!"

The dark-haired boy cringed at the thought and sat back down, pushing Mikan's hands away. "Fine. What do you girls want?"

"We have reason to believe that you know who pulled that prank on G3," the curly-haired girl said in a low, suspicious tone, as if trying to divulge some conspiracy from him.

He looked at her funny, her weird expression freaking him out. "And what makes you think that?"

She hit his arm and snapped, "At dinner time, you made some crack about it, saying that whoever did this was getting _better_ at this. You must know!"

The others stared at her in shock. This girl seemed to be made for the interrogation room.

"Look, it's just an opinion, but I think I do," he said, glaring at her for hitting him.

"How are we so sure you weren't involved?" Shinju asked suspiciously.

"Would a face like this do something that bad?" Rei asked, his hands on his cabinmate's face, contorting it in weird expressions. Kage pushed his hands away in irritation.

"Coz Kage's afraid of slugs," Mikan said quickly, ignoring the redhead's antics.

"Am not!" denied Kage.

"Admit it; you hate slime, _Neat Freak_."

"She does have a point," said Hana, the other G4 girls nodding in assent. The spiky-haired student was well known in their year for that title.

"Okay, so I'm innocent," he said, pausing. "Besides, I'm pretty sure it was the senior guys who did it."

"No way!" Shinju shouted, kicking him from across the circle. "Itachi-sama would never-" She slapped a hand across her mouth, as if to try and take back what she had just said.

A moment of silence ensued as her friends gaped at her in astonishment.

"Did you just say _sama_?" Sakura asked, breaking the silence.

"You _like_ Itachi?!" gasped Mikan, her mouth hanging wide open.

"No one heard anything!" shrieked the raven-haired girl, grabbing a pillow from her bunk and burying her face in it. After a few seconds, she moved the pillow away from her face and said, "No one leaves and gets to tell about this, you hear?" After a pause, she added with a certain air, "It'll ruin my rep."

"Okay, before someone else confesses their deep dark secrets," Kage spoke up, rubbing his sore shin. "Let me tell you guys that I doubt that Itachi had anything to do with it. I'm pretty certain it was Deidara and some of his pals. Not Tobi though, even though he hangs out with the seniors a lot. Tobi's an annoying 'tard and Deidara tends to avoid him."

The others nodded in agreement. Yes, Tobi was indeed _very_ annoying.

"Deidara's been up to no good lately," noted Kano. "Wasn't that beetle incident his doing as well?"

Questions were raised about that, as some of them had not heard of who was behind that fiasco after Tsunade's grand assembly.

"Case closed," said Kage. "I don't know why it's such a big thing though, you girls having to investigate it and all."

"Shut up, Kage," said Mikan. "Just leave. We'll call you when we need you again."

"Ha? Didn't you just threaten me to _voluntarily_ stay?"

"Girl talk" was all Hana needed to stay for the two boys to rush out the door. The girls then turned their attention to the G5 girls. Sakura gulped. Attention was all on them now.

…

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note:** I have been in such a writing frenzy lately. I haven't written this fast since GW (at first, I used to update it every week; btw it's been abandoned). Must be because college is looming darkly around the corner (EDIT: Due to lack of wi-fi, I'd have already started college by the time this has been updated). Gasp! Anyway, been busy reading _Parfait Tic_ (darn shoujo manga hysteria; I need more shounen! Suggestions! Please!), _Vampire Knight_ (40 chapters within 4-5 hours, a new speed manga reading record for me; sigh, _Zero_… vampires… more gorgeous vampires…) and rereading _Stephenie Meyer_'s _The Host_. Also, _Naruto_'s chapter 402 and 403 has me sobbing at the mere thought of recalling them… sniff… **EDIT:** Gave up Parfait Tic and Vampire Knight. They started to annoy me to no ends…

**The chapter title:** Well, I can't really explain it too well. The main reason is the reversal of roles for Ino and Sakura – Inos' the one who's detached herself now, though it could be longer-lasting than what Sakura's case had been. And as you can see, Sakura doesn't try to avoid Sasuke anymore, and it's his turn to feel awkward about the situation.

**Side notes:** (1) There is an archery option for physical education class in my college, but with my horrible hand-eye coordination and my weak upper body strength, I think I'll just stick to archery video games. I chose duckpin bowling for PE though.

(2) Wall-climbing terminology: _Belayer_ – the one who handles the rope for you; _Watcher_ – warns you and basically makes sure you're safe.

(3) Sasuke always picking on Sakura reminds me of _Ichi_ always picking on _Fuuko_ in _Parfait Tic_. I think it was _Akio_ who said that _Ichi_ was "_like a kindergarten student teasing the girl he likes_."

(4) In my fic, Itachi and Sasuke don't really hate each other, really. They just enjoy annoying each other, in such an effect that it was way exaggerated. Sasuke had been nicer as a child though… Sigh, the recent 402 and 403 has had me going into hysterics.

(5) If you've taken tabs on the time, you must've already figured out that each class should last for two hours. The teachers release their students at relative times. Most of the time, they dismiss them early for lack of anything else to do. The class before lunch and the last classes of the day could extend if they wished. Cooking class usually falls under those times, so the students could have time to eat or they could eat their creations (whether in the classroom or outside) in time for lunch or dinner.

(6) 'Some of the girls insisted that [boys] were faster only because they were taller' – it's true. One of my classmates was so tall, he climbed the wall in seconds. He wasn't much of a climber, but made up with his height. Might apply to some of the characters of this story.

(7) Slugs! Whatcha think of them? Me? Think they're gross, but I haven't really encountered any personally.

(8) About Rei's little gay act, well, it's just one thing I remember my male classmates doing a lot. I'm not being discriminatory or stereotypical. It's just that some guys are more comfortable acting feminine, like some guys I know. We all secretly know that some guys enjoy acting gay. Not Kage though. But I bet he can, if I force him too LOL.

(9) Remember Deidara's beetle prank? He targeted the same girls. Wait, you didn't know the beetle prank was by Deidara? Oops, my bad.

**Next Time:**

_Anko looked at her students with narrowed eyes, as if appraising them critically.__ "__Every one of you will have to go through my intensive volleyball training course! Do you get me?"_

**A/N:** It'll be volleyball hell.


	20. Entry 17: Frog

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**A/N:** Sorry for the super uber late update! This has been sitting in my files all month. I've been planning to update as soon as I outline my next chapter. Now, I have, so here it is!

**CHAPTER 17 - Frog**

**DAY 5**

**Old Port 0545 **

"Look who's early!" Naruto shouted as he ran up to them.

"I could say the same thing about you," responded Sasuke.

It was indeed very early, hints of the arriving dawn only just coloring the sky with varied hues of reds and oranges. Today's first class was fishing, and it starts the same time swimming class had the previous day - 6 am.

"Seriously, why _are_ you here this early? You were already gone by the time I woke up."

"No reason, why do you ask?" The shorter boy's huge grin was unsettling.

"You're up to something."

"Me? Why would I be up to something, right, Sai?"

Sai, who had arrived with Sasuke, blinked a few times, as if the mention of his name had snapped him out of some daze. "Uh, said something, Naruto?"

"Clearly, Sai is not the right person to ask about that," said the other raven-haired teen.

"Uh-huh," the said boy said absentmindedly, as if settling back in that daze.

Naruto eyed his friend worriedly. He'd been getting more recluse (and more zombie-like) lately.

"Ow, what was that for?" exclaimed Sai when Naruto punched him on the shoulder.

"Wakey, wakey," his blond friend said, grinning at him mischievously.

"I'm awake now." Sai shook his head, tapping his hands on his cheeks. If he was more awake than he was now, he would've noticed how Naruto's grin didn't quite reach his eyes – the boy's blue eyes didn't quite hide things too well, and his worry was evident in them.

"See?" Sai smiled, but even Sasuke could tell he hadn't quite snapped out of that daze yet.

Naruto frowned, doubting Sai would notice the change in his expression anyway.

"Where's Suigetsu?" asked Sasuke, grateful for the chance to change the subject. It usually didn't matter to him how others acted around him, since he ignored everyone anyway, but Sai's constant state of acting as if he were sleepwalking all day long was starting to get on his nerves.

"Went to help Kakashi-sensei with the tackle kits," explained Naruto.

"The other early bird," noted Sasuke. "That reminds me, you haven't answered my first question yet. If Suigetsu got up early to help Kakashi, why did _you_?"

He caught Naruto's attempt at stealing a quick glance at where Sakura and Hinata was actually sitting on the bank. The second Sasuke met Sakura's steady gaze, he started and looked away, unnerved. The other day, she almost seemed as if she was _talking_ to him. Impossible, he thought. Getting creamed by Itachi at the archery range must have caused him some mental instability for a while.

"So Kakashi is in charge of this class, eh?" Sasuke shook his head, as if to clear whatever fog had settled there, and turned his attention to Naruto, letting the previous question drop, much to his friend's relief. His friend's pathetic attempt at sneaking a furtive glance at his friends was enough of an answer for him, though it was one his blond friend hadn't quite revealed voluntarily.

"Yeah, he and Iruka-sensei and Asuma-sensei sort of share this class. We're lucky to have Kakashi-sensei as our teacher though. This class might turn out to be more relaxing after all."

Suigetsu appeared with the tackle kits just as the B2 boys did. Ino and the G2 girls arrived a minute or two before class was to start.

When the clock struck six, Suigetsu explained that Kakashi-sensei was _detained_ somewhere and that he had been asked to show his classmates how angler fishing was done.

The class grumbled at their sensei's pathetic excuse for being late or possibly even for skipping class. They reprimanded Suigetsu for tolerating their teacher's laziness and letting him dump his responsibilities on a student. Another question raised was if the star swimmer had any idea how to even assemble a tackle.

"Course I do," he snorted. "I know most water-based sports, that much I can assure you. I've been angler fishing since I was 9, so I have a handle on these things." He picked one of the tackle kits, opened it and took out its contents. "Now, to assemble the tackle…"

Turned out that the aqua-haired teen did _know_ what he was doing. He helped them with the assembly and taught them which lure worked for which fish, the fish found in the lake and in what depth to find them. Next, he explained how to cast the lure and properly reel it back in.

"What other water sports can you teach us?" laughed Naruto.

Suigetsu shrugged. "The question is what water sports _won't_ I be able to? Surfing, body-boarding, waterskiing, jet skiing, distance swimming, sushi making, some others I can't remember right now… All tried and mastered… Surprisingly, I know kendo as well… "

"Sushi-making?" asked the blond, chuckling. "Last time I checked, that wasn't a sport."

"It isn't? Anyway, we can make some in cooking class if Kurenai-sensei allows us… though it isn't really considered _cooking_, is it?"

…

"Gaara, you awake?" the tall orange-haired Juugo asked the kouhai, who was frozen in the act of pulling in his line.

"Huh…?" The redhead shook his head wearily, as if disoriented. "Oh, I must've drifted off." He couldn't prevent a wide yawn from escaping his lips.

"You don't like waking up early, do you?"

The kouhai merely nodded his head, his eyelids drooping dangerously as his tackle wobbled up and down.

That was the last bit of conversation the B2 boys had for the rest of the class as they practiced casting and reeling in their lines. Mysterious Shino wasn't much for conversations, as was Gaara, who was too drowsy to converse in any case. Juugo liked to keep to himself and mostly talked to his close pal Kimimaro, who most usually only talked when spoken to. It was quite the twist of fate for this silent bunch to be teamed up.

…

"This class is soooo boring," groaned Misato as she lazily jerked her lure out of the water, her tanned fingers picking at the end of one of the blond pigtails on either side of her head. She squatted on the bank in her platform shoes, tired from standing in the same position for the last half hour. She hated having to do such a menial task.

"Yeah, yeah," Ino replied blandly as she peered at the lure dangling off of her line. "You've said that for the nth time."

"That would be nineteen times, Ino-san," corrected the jet-haired Momoko, another member of G2, as she absentmindedly waved her tackle back and forth in the air, as if to attract fish with such overly erratic movements.

"Eh?" asked Ino. "You've been counting all this time?"

"Oh, I was bored, so I went and kept count of everything everyone did," explained the dark-haired girl. "Misato's complained 19 times, Ino-san's complained about Misato's complaining for the 15th time, while Ichigo's tangled her line for the fifth consecutive time. Lastly, Pan has stopped complaining about not catching anything after her 27th try."

Ichigo, a pretty girl with wavy brown hair, was in the process of further entangling her fingers in the tangled web of strings, while Pan glared at her lure with pursed lips, as if demanding an explanation for its incompetence.

Ino groaned. G2, composed of freshmen, wasn't exactly the happy-go-lucky set. Their personalities clashed too much, and they didn't get along too well. Misato was a kogal: tall, tanned, blond and self-conscious; she wore platforms, white short shorts and a spaghetti-strapped shirt. Her attention span didn't quite cover too much, and having to attend this boring class was making her fidgety. Momoko was pretty, nice and what you would consider a perfect lady, a _Yamato Nadeshiko_. She didn't have much of a personality though, and her head was often in the clouds, thinking of what to eat for lunch or counting how many strands of hair the next person had on his or her head. Ichigo was a sweet girl, fun when around, but she easily got lost in her own little private bubble, especially when under stress, such as her current fishing line predicament. Raven-haired Pan was more of a tomboy; she was sporty and tough, often picking on Misato for being so frivolous. She believed she could take on any challenge, no matter how trivial, yet she was starting to get edgy from not being able to catch anything this whole time.

Ino once again reminded herself why she was hanging out with this group of girls instead of with her own cabin. She wanted to isolate herself from any interaction with men and the girls who participated in such interactions. She had admitted before that the feud didn't matter to her as much as the realization that she and her boyfriend were never compatible to begin with, but she was beginning to regret fighting with Sakura, especially if it meant hanging out with _these_ girls. She'd rather swallow her pride.

"Eh?" Misato practically shrieked, interrupting Ino's thoughts, as she jumped to her feet. "What the?"

The gal's shrilly little voice almost caused Ino to think she'd gone deaf for a second before she realized what the sudden racket was about.

The girls collectively searched for the cause of their companion's sudden reaction and turned to see a little mechanical boat whizzing about on the lake. They gaped at it as it traced imaginary circles on the water, looping and twisting.

It was fifteen or so minutes past 6 am. Who would be playing with toy boats this time of the day? Just because their lazy teacher didn't show up didn't mean anyone could just come and disrupt their class.

And toy boats? Hello! How old were the campers here? Maybe Tobi would've done something this retarded, but heaven knows what unspeakable force could wake him up this early in the morning.

It was already too late when they realized that the seemingly harmless toy was already approaching their lines. It deliberately circled the area where their lines touched the water, killing any off chance that they'd catch any fish the seemingly empty lake had to offer. It whizzed right into one, the fishing line entangling on the toy boat's rail, pulling it along.

"Hey!" protested Pan as she tried reeling her line back in.

"Looks like you finally caught something!" chided Misato.

"Shut up!" She cut the line before the boat managed to pull her tackle in as well. "What the hell was that?!" she exclaimed, enraged at having been isolated as the target.

"Eeeh… what was that about?" was Momoko's worried cry.

The mechanical toy continued whizzing around, barely missing the remaining lines.

Ino was furiously searching for the culprit when she realized that they were the only ones being targeted. The B2 boys, gathered on the bank on the other side of the port, were enjoying relatively unexciting fishing. Sasuke and Naruto had borrowed a kayak and were trying their luck deeper in, having a peaceful pest-free time, while Suigetsu remained with the rest of the students, aiding them in their more or less uneventful activity.

This was too suspicious.

"What's going on over there?" Suigetsu suddenly asked as he started approaching them, having noticed the conspicuous toy boat and the apparent trouble it was causing them.

"That thing's messing with our lines," growled Pan.

"I can see that," he replied. "Someone must be controlling it not too far away."

"Hey, I can see someone," said Ichigo, pointing at the tree-lined bank a hundred or so yards away, where a certain shade of yellow was evident against the dark cover of trees.

"Ah! Isn't that Deidara-sempai!" shrieked Misato.

"Is he… waving at us?!" Pan barked out the last half of her statement. "That little!"

They saw the little boat make its way to the blond upperclassman, who scooped it up into his hands and waved at them one more time before disappearing into the trees.

"He is so gonna get it," swore the raven-haired tomboy.

Ino glanced at the end of the port, where she met Sakura's gaze. She shot her pink-haired friend an 'I-told-you' look. So much for thinking of making up. After such a display of boys' immaturity, why should _she_ apologize?

**Volleyball Court 0800 **

"Okay, what do we have here?" Anko looked at her students with narrowed eyes, as if appraising them critically.

Naruto groaned inwardly as their volleyball teacher paced in front of them, meeting each of their gazes. She suddenly stopped in front of him and turned to face him.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite student," she said, smirking.

The blond teen cringed. "Yo, Anko-sensei," he said dryly. May as well play along.

"Tell me, Naruto-kun," she started, "what do you expect to do in my class?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Play volleyball?"

"Wrong!" she exclaimed, making her students flinch despite having braced themselves for any of her familiar outbursts. "I don't care if you're volleyball varsity players, or even Olympic athletes! Heck, I don't even care if you're handicapped! Every one of you will have to go through my intensive volleyball training course! No one's playing ball till I say so! Do you get me?"

Hinata almost felt as if she were going to faint from the purple-haired woman's sudden explosion. The others silently cursed under their breath, knowing very well how much of a hell the next two hours would be.

"I said-" she roared.

"We get you!" chorused her students.

She nodded her head. Good enough. "Two teams," she bellowed, "one on my right, the other on the left. I will call names of the members of each team alternately. Form a line when you join your team."

She called each of their names, almost randomly, and they divided themselves in the two teams she required.

"Sasuke, Neji, you two will be in charge of your teams. Which means it'll be your responsibility to keep your team in check. Whose team does badly will have to report to me." She said the last part of her statement with an insidious grin. She saw them glare at each other competitively. She didn't doubt the boys' leadership skills, but a little fun competition was in order. Volleyball wouldn't be fun without any rivalry, would it?

Turns out, the competition she was supposed to be watching out for was to be expected within the teams themselves.

She had them run twenty laps around the court, promising a prize of an extra five laps for the team that finished last. At the end of the race, she gave both teams the additional five laps anyway. The students were all sprawled on the ground by the time the twenty-five laps were finished.

"She… is… trying… to kill… us…" Shikamaru said in between gasps of air, lying flat out on the court.

"Get a grip on yourself, loser," said Temari, his teammate, sitting a couple of feet away. She was panting less, but the sweat was evident on her brow. "It's just her warm up."

"She's just… warming up," said Tenten, a member of the other team, her hands resting on her bent knees as she tried to slow down her breathing. "It's bound… to get even worse…"

Even the more athletic boys, Sasuke, Suigetsu, Naruto, Neji and Lee, were panting hard at the exercise.

"What next?" Suigetsu asked, sarcasm seeping through his voice. "Push-ups?"

"Ssh…" said Naruto, wiping his forehead with his wristband. "Don't give her any bright ideas."

The next activity was for the group to consecutively volley the ball from one player to another a hundred times. If the ball fell to the ground, they had to return to the start all over again. It was a task bound to go askew.

Neji's team was in a bit of a predicament. Ino was great at volleying, but with half the team made up guys, Sai included, she had less choices to volley the ball to. Oh, and Sakura. She never passed to Sakura. Temari had no problem with the boys – it was strictly business –, but she tended to start bickering with Shikamaru whenever the team made a mistake. Sai played without much enthusiasm and seemed as if he wasn't even looking at whom he was volleying the ball to. Every time he passed to Ino, she would flinch and send the ball in the wrong direction. Tayuya played well, but tended to hog the ball, often times bumping into people and ruining the volley.

Naruto would've done better if the rest of his team wasn't distracting him so much – or if Tayuya didn't push him over half the time.

Neji kept his cool, but never got his team to shape up. Neither could Sasuke.

Even with Suigetsu, Lee and Chouji on his team, the mere fact that these boys were neutrals didn't help things. Suigetsu tended to overshoot, and Chouji often hit the balls too hard. Lee saved the ball often, but ended up tripping most of his teammates when he ended up sprawled on the ground in doing so.

Karin showed off too much, often rushing in even when someone else, especially Suigetsu, could've received the ball. Tenten got irritated at her more than a few times and didn't put any effort at hiding it. Suigetsu started a habit of purposely sending faulty volleys at Karin in retaliation. Meanwhile, Kin was reckless and sent the ball everywhere, while Hinata… well, let's just say Hinata was never meant to play volleyball, that much I could say.

Anko frowned on her students' performance, and shouted at them every chance she found them at fault, but after an hour of watching them make the same mistakes over and over again, she realized that shouting at them was not enough. She had them doing push-ups, just as Naruto feared, and spent every few minutes shouting at them for their lack of cooperation – not to mention their lack of skill, their bickering and their leaders' inability to keep them in line. She had Sasuke and Neji doing double of what she'd assigned the rest, just to get the message through.

At the end of the day, the only consolation Anko could offer them was the knowledge that at least they didn't do quite as bad as some of her previous classes, which really didn't cheer anyone up. Indeed, volleyball class did turn out like hell.

**Cabin B5 1030 **

"Ow… I think I'll be out all week," groaned Naruto, sprawled across his bunk, his wet hair soaking the bed sheet. He had already taken a bath a while ago, as the rest of his cabinmates had, but he felt no better after that shower than when he was drenched in his own sweat.

The only response in the cabin was Suigetsu's snoring. For some odd reason, he'd fallen asleep sitting next to his blond cabinmate's bunk bed, probably too exhausted to climb up to his own bunk. Sai had secluded himself behind his bunk's heavy curtain, while Sasuke lay on his bed, musing about something or another.

Naruto wasn't too slow as to not notice his friend's lack of a contradiction to his statement. Sasuke usually had something to say to make him look like an idiot by now. "Sasuke, what are you thinking?"

"Nothing you'd like to hear," he replied.

The blond boy sat up, edging out of his bunk. "Which means it's definitely something I might want to hear," he said mischievously.

He got up and approached the opposite bunk, a sly smile on his face.

"Oi, you're trying to hide something, aren't you?"

His friend sighed. "Sakura's acting weird… again…"

A short pause. "She is? Like… how?"

"Like trying to speak to me."

"Oh." After a long pause, he added, "Are you sure she wasn't going to shout at you, coz-"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned away.

"I was just kidding." Naruto sat at the edge of Sasuke's bunk, bending over him to try and make him look at him face to face. "You're not thinking…" The blond suddenly stopped and changed his train of thought. "Maybe you should just apologize. That way, everything will be back to normal."

When Sasuke didn't respond, Naruto started poking him on the side.

"If you don't, you and Sakura will end up like how you usually are with Itachi. Unless she transfers school, which I doubt-"

Sasuke looked at him and shot him a dark look. "Itachi and I are just fine," he corrected.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorta like you and me, except with you and Itachi, you're the annoying one. _Hey, Nii-san, let's play. Oi, I'm hungry. Ne, I want a piggy-back ride_."

"Hey!" exclaimed the raven-haired teen, sitting up, "that was way when I was six, okay!"

"And weren't you such a cute six year old?" Naruto's expression changed from a playful to exaggeratedly serious. "Just apologize already. Be a man, you wimp."

"Who're you calling a wimp?" No one calls Sasuke a wimp.

"If you aren't one, why don't you apologize?"

"What should I apologize for?" Sasuke asked stubbornly.

"How can you be so daft? Admit that you were being a jerk and say you're sorry. I don't care if you don't mean it! Just do it!"

"Well, that's not much of an apology, is it?"

"You're impossible."

"So are you."

"I should ask for Itachi's help."

"As if that'd do you any good."

The two stared each other down, appraising each other's bluffs and threats. Will Naruto really ask Itachi? Does Sasuke really think his brother's participation wouldn't matter? They both tensed, as if to run for the door in search of the sempai the second the other gave any indication of doing so.

A loud yawn suddenly threw their focus off. "What time is it?" was Suigetsu's garbled question as he rubbed at his eyes.

"Not yet time," Sasuke said quickly, still staring at his blond friend.

"Yeah, yeah, get back to sleep," Naruto added tersely, not letting his gaze drop.

Suigetsu rubbed at some sore spot behind his neck and settled into a more comfortable position against the bunk bed, easily lulled back into slumber.

A few minutes passed before either of the contending cabinmates spoke again.

"We'll be seeing Sakura in the next class." When the black-haired boy didn't reply, Naruto continued. "You seriously don't think you have anything to apologize for?"

"I would…" Sasuke responded. "But what difference would apologizing make, if I'd do the exact same thing given the chance? I'm not that easily changed, Naruto."

"Much like weathering a stone," grumbled Naruto. A smile spread on his face. "Or boiling a frog, which I think is a better way of calling it."

Sasuke's obsidian eyes narrowed at him. "And who's the frog supposed to be? Me?"

"You got that right."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note:** Sigh, I know my fic is really slow… I'm annoyed as well, and I'm trying to push the fic forward a bit faster, but it takes some effort to move things along… and well, I barely have time for my fan fiction anymore, with this being the first semester of my first year in college. I'm in a bit of a transition phase, and I have trouble prioritizing and handling my time, with having to go buy this and that or go hunt down an internet connection, whether that ever evasive Wi-Fi a block from my dorm or a nearby internet café, or walking about a kilometer to your class just because the damn campus is so fricking huge… I know some of you are annoyed, but please bear with me… Sorry!

Oh, I watched _There She Is!_ in . OMG it is so cute! Flash video at its most _kawaii_!

**Side notes:** (1) No, I am not making Suigetsu cocky for no other reason than the fact the he _does_ know all those sports… I'm portraying him more of a dedicated athlete, if you've noticed. He's too into sports, so he gets all rowdy and mischievous when he's not under the strict surveillance he's usually in when he's training – like when Ebisu's his swimming coach; I doubt that he could get a breather with that straight-laced disciplinarian. Yay! I've figured out his personality in my fic! Not in the manga though. He's still a mystery to me in there.

(2) Ever watched Grander Musashi? Yeah, watched that as a kid. Loved it to death LOL. Where I learned about angler fishing… Never done it though… Must be fun…

(3) Lol. Gaara is no insomniac here… Such a sleepyhead…

(4) Ignore G2. They're minor characters who don't deserve to be remembered. Except maybe Ichigo. She's sorta based on my sister, who's only fifteen months younger than I am. Keke.

(5) Back in high school, we had Intramurals, our school's inter-batch sports competition. Competition was tight between us and the upperclassman a year ahead of us. They'd hated us since we were in first year, and we were excited to bring it on during our third year (we have a four-year high school system), when we actually had a chance to beat them and take the championship. If they hadn't cheated and changed the scoring system, we woulda kicked their butts. The next year, when we were seniors, the games were pretty boring, seeing as we were good friends with the third years then. They were pretty good, especially in volleyball, and they ruled in football (soccer), but they were no match overall against us. The previous year still ranked high in the most exciting Intrams in my book though…

**Next Time:**

"_TOOOOBIIII!" shouted Deidara._

"_Kyaa! Deidara-sempai looks so cute!" shouted one of the G3 girls._

**A/N:** Okay, now what did Tobi do to Deidara this time? Sigh… he's hopeless…


	21. Entry 18: Questions

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by **fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 18 - Questions**

**DAY 5**

**Cabin G4 1230**

"What's this supposed to be?"

"What? You can't recognize my handwriting?" demanded Shinju, crossing her arms in front of her chest, a few pieces of paper and a pen clutched in one hand.

Tenten raised the piece of paper in her hand. "I said what's this for-"

"It's a survey. A _survey_." The raven-haired girl stressed the word heavily. "It's to gather people's opinion, that's what it's for."

The chocolate-haired girl rolled her eyes and started reading off the questionnaire. "Does this debate have a negative effect on relationships between boys and girls prior to the feud? Do you think this feud wouldn't have been much of an issue if it wasn't brought up in the debate as a topic? Did anything the debaters say affect your opinion on the matter? In fact, was equality between the sexes even much of an issue before the said debate?" She waved the piece of paper in front of her friend's face. "We all know it was the boys' fault. There's no need for this!"

Behind her, Temari was curiously reading the questionnaire, seemingly engrossed with it.

Shinju's face was starting to turn red. She bit her lip, holding off whatever explosion she so dearly wanted to unleash upon the equally enraged Tenten. Instead of doing so, she passed on the baton to someone else before she flipped her top. "MIKAN! GET OVER HERE AND DEFEND YOUR SURVEY!"

Mikan came skipping out of the cabin, a clueless expression on her face and a stick of Pocky hanging out of her mouth. "Eh? What's up?" she asked.

Shinju marched over to her, grabbed the pocky sticking out of her mouth and held it up like a ransom. "I. Need. You. To explain _this_." She held up the survey, her face distorted in so much anger that Mikan cringed back.

"NOW," ordered the raven-haired girl.

Mikan gulped, stiffly straightened herself out and came face to face with Tenten, who was still glaring at them. "Tenten, about that…"

The taller girl raised an eyebrow. Surely, the little curly-haired shrimp couldn't have come up with this, could she?

Mikan's strained voice suddenly took on a tone eerily resembling a robot's. "This survey's primary objective is to gather the campers' and possibly even teachers' opinions on the boy versus girl feud in order to achieve the secondary objective, which is to determine the underlying cause of this said feud, whether it stems from personal or general misconceptions and understandings. In doing so, hopefully, the third and final objective may be achieved, which is to conclude whether or not it is worth fighting over such a shallow and trivial topic." She took in a deep breath, refilling her lungs after such a lengthy explanation. "That's all."

The three girls gaped at her scientific explanation, their mouths hanging open in disbelief, any anger left over all but forgotten.

Mikan smiled, turned, grabbed her pocky from Shinju's frozen hand and merrily skipped back into the cabin.

**Cabin G6 1300 **

"You're not seriously participating in this survey crap, are you?" Tenten asked in disbelief, shaking her head.

"What? The G4 girls are making a huge effort to get things back to normal." When Temari saw that her answer held little to convince her friend, she added, "Well I'm sick of this fight, and all I do is get mad over the littlest things boys do wrong. In fact, I'm mad at them even when they _don't_ do anything wrong. It's not like they do those things to offend me. They're just naturally annoying.

"I mean, Kankurou's been hanging out with the G4 girls for crying out loud! He seems to get along with them, why can't I? I mean isn't it a moot point to keep on acting like this anymore?" She browsed through the questionnaire. "See here, one question asks if the root of these confrontations is strictly personal or if it really was in the name of whatever cause we had in mind. I've always been on opposite sides of the spectrum when it came to my brother, and that Shikamaru was just plain annoying back in the council as the batch representative. That kid's sharp, always picking at details. I have to admit, I guess I was just a little jealous of him, always getting the better of me. You can probably say I was just in it for my own personal vendettas."

Tenten's steely gaze didn't waver.

"And you on the other hand…" continued Temari, gazing down at the paper. "Are you sure this isn't all about some quarrel you're just having with Neji? I mean, he's your friend and all, but ever since this whole mess started, you've been at each other's necks. I don't really see you picking fights with the rest of them-"

Before she could say anything further, Tenten had marched out of the cabin, leaving the door hanging wide open.

Temari continued answering the survey without looking up. After a minute or so, she got up and closed the door with a sigh.

**Vegetable Garden 1400 **

"Look who's behaving."

"I can say the same thing about you."

Shikamaru suddenly started, seeing Temari actually _smile_. Smile. Not smirk, smile.

He put aside the trowel in his hand "Okay, what's going on? I don't like the look on your face."

Temari looked up from the clod of dirt she was torturing and suddenly laughed. Not some maniacal laugh. Not even a cynical 'You're-gonna-get-it' laugh. Just a soft, amused laugh. Wow, he wasn't even aware she could sound like that. "What? I'm even scarier when I'm not mad?"

"Wait, hold on a minute. Not mad?" Disbelief was evident on his face. "We spent Volleyball class shouting at each other's ears, and you're not mad _at me_?"

"As far as I'm concerned, this war is over," she stated. "I don't care who the victor is. I'm done."

"What made you change your mind?"

"I've been thinking about it for some time now… All this getting mad and shouting's stressing me out. I'm going to start breaking out any time soon."

"Yeah, right."

"Okay, fine. It was the survey G4 put out."

"Survey? You're kidding."

"Nope. Try it. It'll help your perspective on things."

"What things?"

"Like you're still trying to aggravate me even when I said I don't care anymore."

"No, I'm not. I'm really interested in your sudden change of heart. So it's this survey?"

"Why are you so interested?"

"Just."

Temari narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Just take the survey already. And make your friends take it."

Shikamaru nodded his head absent-mindedly, already thinking about the survey and what sort of miracles it could also pull off.

…

Sakura couldn't help staring at her two groupmates who suddenly seemed to get along. It almost seemed as if they were _flirting_. She suppressed an involuntary shiver. Hell would freeze over first.

Her gaze drifted to the adjacent plot, where she could see Tenten gaping with her mouth wide open at the same sight. No, not only hell should freeze over first. Heck, the oceans and seas should start burning first.

What was going on?

On the other hand, when Sakura turned to steal a glimpse from Ino, she saw her best friend solitarily working on her own little corner of dirt while the rest of her team pretty much did the same. She almost seemed to resemble Sai, with their eerily similar zombie-like behavior.

…

"So, has Sakura done something yet?"

Sasuke started at his blond friend's sudden appearance, cursing under his breath for his sudden skittishness. Why was he so anxious about Sakura possibly talking to him? He wasn't usually this paranoid.

Naruto looked at him with an annoyingly curious expression, leaning closer as if to examine his friend's face better. "Ooh, what was that just now?"

The dark-haired teen backed away, not wanting to fall over from his squatting position on the ground lest he lose his balance. "Nothing," he mumbled, redirecting his attention to his garden work.

"Oh, she's looking this way."

Sasuke suddenly ducked his head as if to duck for cover.

"Ha, made you duck." Sasuke pushed a hand against his face, pushing him away.

"Get back to work."

"Wait, she really is looking this way now."

"Yeah, right." Sasuke turned and saw that she_ really_ was looking their way. He looked away quickly, flustered. Damn, this was getting more awkward by the second. "I need to go get something from the tool shed."

Naruto slapped a hand on his forehead in annoyance as his friend fled the scene.

"What was that about?" mouthed Sakura in his direction after Sasuke's sudden flight.

The blond boy shrugged in response.

…

"Ino-chan, do you need help with that?"

"Uh, no, Lee, I don't." Ino scooted farther away, trying to keep her groupmate from getting any nearer.

Lee made a face. "Ino-chan, you seem to be acting weird lately. Just now, it almost seems as if you're acting all cold and dead like Sai."

At the mention of his name, Sai suddenly looked up from his work, as if someone had just woken him up. Despite the distance between them, Ino was able to see his reaction. She was surprised though, when she saw that he returned to his work without even acknowledging whoever it was that had called him. He was acting like a zombie, all right. Did that mean she acted just as… gray?

"Ah, I know, you just need some cheering up," said Lee, a hopeful smile on his face.

"I think I need more than that." Ino looked away, contemplating. For the first time, she finally noticed how Sai looked so gloomy… so dead… It just occurred to her that Sai was never really like most guys… what if… no… but then…

"Did you say something?"

"Uh, nothing." She laughed loudly, a smidge of hysterics in her tone. "I just need some fresh air," she said, getting up and stretching her arms.

"Yosh!" Said Lee as he jumped to his feet. "I'll take a walk with you. If I can't get back here in time before you do, I'll run a hundred laps around the lake."

"No need, sempai," she replied, already heading off. The last thing she needed was Lee's crazy antics in cheering her up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tayuya called after her, annoyed.

"I'll be back!" responded the blonde. Yeah, right.

**Basketball Court 1530 **

"Come on, Kage-sempai," whined Kiba as he squatted on the ground, letting the basketball roll off his hand. "You can't seriously make me take this…" His face crunched up in confusion at the questionnaire in his hand. Paperwork equals hard work. Bad. Very bad.

"Oi, oi," said the raven-haired upperclassman, holding a few more of the same survey in his hand, "if I don't get these filled up, I won't get that _Fang Shinobi Chronicles_ Special Chapter Mikan promised. So you better answer it." He was an expert at the convincingly evil glare.

"What Special Chapter?" The mere mention of the said manga series had Kiba's face vibrant and alive again.

"I'll lend it to you if you answer the survey."

"Sweet!"

"Oh, and read it before you answer. And don't just make stuff up as you go. Think about it before answering."

"Aw, come on."

"Don't worry, Kiba-kun, it's easy." Rei was squatting as well on the ground beside him, bent over the questionnaire on his lap. "Just let 'em know how you feel. Won't hurt to tell 'em what you really think."

"Fine, I'll give it a shot… For FSC!"

The B4 guys had been released early from their 2-4 pm class, so they decided to head to the court to shoot some hoops. Unexpectedly, Kage had come up with these strange survey questionnaires. To top it all off, he claimed that Mikan made the questions while Shinju painstakingly handwrote _everything_ just because there wasn't an available photo copier around. Hana, Kano and Kage handled the distribution. The part about Shinju, the handwriting perfectionist, was believable, but Mikan making this survey? Kage had got to be kidding about that.

"Blackmailed by a girl into doing her bidding," laughed Kankurou, handing Kage his finished survey. "Tsk, tsk, how low can some people go?"

"Girl? What girl?" replied the raven-haired teen. "Tch, if it wasn't for the curly-hair, I could've sworn Mikan was a guy."

"Oh, _really_?" Kage didn't like the implication Kankurou had in his tone.

"Lay off, she's just a friend _who just happens_ to be an annoying girl… and who has a boatload of FSC stuff…"

"What's this supposed to be?" someone suddenly interrupted them. "A study group on the basketball court? And you're supposed to be guys."

"What do you want, Kin?" Kiba asked, looking up from the survey with an indifferent look on his face. Having faced her off the other day, he was quite aware she wasn't quite as scary as she presented herself to be. If bees could make him make a fool of himself, the kitchen was her ultimate kryptonite.

Beside her stood Tayuya, who yawned loudly, not even trying to hide the look of annoyance on her face. Her countenance clearly stated that she wanted no participation in this.

Meanwhile, Kin picked up the basketball and started spinning it on her hand. "Anyone up for a game?" she asked with a smirk.

"Uh, if you haven't noticed," said Kankurou, "there are four of us and two of you and-"

"Sure, you're on," said Kiba. "Two-on-two?"

Tayuya coughed loudly, her face contorting into one of discontent.

"One-on-one then?" he amended.

"Yeah, whatever." Kin glared at Tayuya before she started dribbling the ball.

"What's going on?" asked Kage.

"Hold this for a sec, Sempai." Kiba handed him the unfinished survey. "We have a bone to pick, that's all."

The court was cleared as the others evacuated the area.

"What's with her?" Rei was brave (or stupid) enough to ask Tayuya.

She looked away and shrugged in response.

"Okay, first one to ten," said Kin.

"'S that all?" scoffed Kiba. "We can even have a race to twenty for all I care-"

She suddenly dashed past him, knocking him over before performing a lay-up.

"What the – hey! The match hasn't started yet!" he complained as he got up, his face red from his friends' jeers.

"Not my fault you weren't prepared," she retorted. She picked up the ball and passed it to him. "Your turn."

"Kiba's gonna lose to a girl!" shouted Rei.

"Kin's more of a guy than you are!" taunted Kankurou.

"Oi! Shut up, would ya?" shouted Kiba as he started dribbling. He is _definitely_ not going to take her easy.

**Cooking Class 1600 **

"I didn't sign up for some home economics class," grumbled Deidara, uncomfortable in the full-body cooking ensemble.

"Deidara-sempai, you look like a girl!" exclaimed Tobi, pointing an accusatory finger.

The upperclassman's face reddened considerably at the remark. With his hair pulled up in a ponytail, the long white apron with the long sleeves, the white gloves and kerchief around his head, anyone would readily agree with Tobi's claim. Deidara was also short for a guy, which further supported the annoying kouhai's claim.

"TOOOOBIIII!"

"Kyaa! Deidara-sempai looks so cute!" shouted one of the G3 girls.

"Who said that!" roared Deidara.

"Deidara-sempai, can we play with your hair?" asked another.

"So pretty, Deidara-san! Kyaaaa!"

Sakura and Hinata watched as the blond upperclassman made a fool of himself running around chasing the kouhai.

"That's… interesting…" said the pink-haired girl, remembering how the same guy not only ruined their fishing class, but also caused the Grand Assembly ruckus and the G3 slug infestation. Oh, if only those girls knew…

"Ahem."

Sakura turned and saw Naruto across the counter, holding a fist to his mouth, as if to clear his throat.

"The frog is just about boiled through and through," he said, mirth undeniably on his expression.

"Frog?" The idea of boiling a frog made Sakura contort her face.

"Nothing," he laughed. "Sasuke's outside. He'll come in once Kurenai-sensei arrives. I think he's trying to avoid you that way."

Sakura took a deep breath. Okay, time for a little chat…

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note:** At one point, I've been possessed by some spirit and couldn't stop writing till late in the night/early morning… On the other hand… Waaah… I wanted to go on a rally… (My university's full of activists; you can't help being politically aware) I so wanted to go!!! I can almost feel my heart bleeding… I'm an overzealous freshie, I know, but I so wanted to go! Huhu… Also, lost the notebook where I kept the chicken scratch (for some scenes), plots, class schedules and class assignments for my fic, so I have to base my next chapters from scratch… Groan…

Please review… put a smile on my face! I really need it!

**Side notes:** (1) What can I say? Mikan is based on me, and I'm a weird little thing. I can talk all weird like that…

(2) OMG Revelation of possible couples! I have always been a ShikaTema fan, but not today, guys (_It almost seemed as if they were flirting_does not mean they really were_)_. Maybe tomorrow then hehe… And NejiTenten… I like reading them, but in the end, LeeTenten is more canon. Oh, and is anyone detecting some KibaKin? If you make me, I can probably make it happen… If you try really really hard…

Also, someone said Kage and Mikan make a nice pair. Hm… the answer is in another fic… Does anyone want to read Mikan and her friends' story? Well, I haven't quite finished it, actually.

(3) Yes, I'm aware BG5 have both volleyball and gardening classes with BG6. But they do have four hours in between those two classes, and BG6 has another class during that break.

(4) Lee! I haven't been giving him much attention! Must make up for it!

(5) Basketball and homework/paperwork usually don't add up, especially for those with jock attitudes.

**Survey!!! **Here's my own survey. If you review, please answer the following questions. Please!

I know my writing style isn't that professional, or even consistent for the matter, but _do you enjoy this fic_?

_Does it make you laugh_?

_Do you like my pairings_?

_Do you want some ShikaTema in it_?

_Do you want some NejiTenten in it_?

_Is the pace boring you? Do you think it's dragging?_

Or maybe you really _can't just wait for Sakura and Sasuke-teme to end up together FINALLY_ after all these many chapters? (Well, no, I can't give it to you in the next chapter, sorry.)

If I do decide to write/publish it, _would anyone be interested in Mikan and her friends' story_? It'll be full of OC's though, set in an alternative time with not much semblance to the present Naruto canon.

That's all. Thank you SO MUCH. Love y'all! Ja ne!

**Next Time:**

_"A survey?" exclaimed Deidara. "You've got to be kidding me."_

_"Ooh, ooh, Sempai, let's answer it!" said Tobi, already taking a copy from Shinju._

_"Wait, you're not making me - Toooobi!"_


	22. Entry 19: Bang

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed. I don't own _Yuki Kaori_'s _Ludwig Revolution_, _Count Cain/Godchild_ or _Angel Sanctuary_, which I might rant about at the author's note at the end of this fic.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 19 - Interesting**

**DAY 5**

**Basketball Court 1540 – some twenty minutes prior**

"Yow! That was a foul!"

"Foul, shmoul," responded Kiba, retrieving the ball. "We never established a rule on fouls, and now you're griping over it when you were the one who started shoving first?"

Kin glared up at him from the floor. He'd practically rammed into her just to get past, sending her crashing down. She couldn't believe he just turned her own words against her.

"Well, get up already," he said, juggling the basketball with his hands. "I'm ahead 8 to 5, so don't tell me you're resorting to fouls just to catch up?"

She got up, wiping her hands on her cargo pants. Without warning, she suddenly rushed right at him, aiming for the ball.

"What the-" Kiba, surprised, only managed to lift the ball out of her reach.

Let's just say what resulted afterwards was just a little short of a head-on collision.

A combination of concern and amusement erupted from Kiba's friends as Kin knocked him over.

**Cooking Class 1600 **

"Sasuke."

He didn't respond at first, presumably from denial. With his back towards the log cabin serving as their art classroom, he continued staring into the woods surrounding it.

"Sasuke," Sakura repeated in a louder voice. "I think we need to talk."

He finally turned to face her, a cold, passive look on his face. "What? You're talking to me now?" He'd gone outside to cool his head. He had had bad nerves all day, and now here she was, making them worse again.

Sakura felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance at his reply. "Isn't the answer obvious?" she wanted to yell at him.

"Look, it's not like I want things back to normal exactly as they were before, but-"

"I don't see any need to talk about this," he interrupted, almost in an aggravated sigh as he tried to pass her.

"Wait, I'm not done yet," Sakura said, grabbing his elbow and shoving him back.

The unexpected contact surprised Sasuke long enough for her to grab his attention.

"I'm not apologizing," she continued, resolving to block his path back into the log cabin classroom by all means possible, "And I have no intention of letting you push me around like you used to."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" he asked, his blood boiling up instead of freezing over as they would have earlier that day. Perhaps it wouldn't be that hard to talk to her as he had feared (though he would never admit it). The paranoia earlier on had been a total waste of his time.

"Yes."

_Oh, so she regained that competitive edge, eh? _"We'll see about that."

"I just want to stop this whole mess, seeing as it started with the two of us. I'm no longer going to act like some wounded dog, trying to avoid you or letting myself be affected by you. Neither am I going down without a fight. This could be a declaration of war for all I care, depending on how you act on it. Anyway, I'm not running away. Partially because I share some of your friends too, and partially because I actually have pride left, believe it or not."

The two glared at each other.

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

He chuckled, amused. "Fine, I was tired of picking on a poor, defenseless weakling that couldn't fight back anyway."

"Fine by me."

The two continued glaring at each for who knows how long.

"Will you two be taking much longer?" The two started at hearing Kurenai's voice. "Because I really need to start our class now."

"Ah, not at all, Sensei," replied Sakura in a surprisingly sweet, casual tone.

"No problem here," added Sasuke in a passive voice.

The two entered the room, leaving their confused sensei at the door.

…

"Well, what happened?" an excited Naruto inquired as he hovered over Sakura's shoulder.

For once, Sakura seemed to be in a sunny mood right now. Perhaps…

"I talked to him," she replied as she continued chopping the chocolates.

"Yeah, yeah, so what happened?"

"Why don't you ask him?" she asked with a smile.

Naruto made a face. "Come on, I'm already here. You may as well tell me."

She just smiled again and returned to her work. The blond boy groaned in annoyance. Fine. Whatever. He lugged the baking pans he was carrying to the next table where Sasuke was operating the automatic mixer.

"What's up?" he greeted his friend.

"Nothing much" was the raven-haired teen's response, concentrating on his work.

"Sure about that?" Naruto, undoubtedly curious, was leaning too near like he usually does.

He was surprised to see Sasuke smirk. "Let's just say things are will be getting interesting from now on."

Naruto made yet another face. What was with their lack of direct answers? He wasn't one to catch on too quickly, so he preferred direct, unadulterated answers. Was everything settled, or did they get worse? What exactly just happened?

**Wall-climbing Class 1630**

"Look who's acting stranger still," says Temari, referring to a bizarrely distracted Kin.

The ebony-haired girl barely heard her partner Tayuya call out to her.

"Kin!" shouted the pink-haired girl from the top of the wall. "Didn't you see me tapping? I'm done here!"

"Yeah, yeah!" she shouted back, a little light-headed.

"Right, Tenten?" Temari asked her friend, who was gearing up for another ascend.

The chocolate-haired girl turned away, snubbing her.

The sand blonde looked away with a shrug, scanning the rest of the class. If Tenten was still upset over that, perhaps there had been some truth to the accusation. Which could further lead to other implications… whatever those implications may be…

Cabins BG6 joined BG1 for wall-climbing class under Kakashi-sensei. As usual, she noticed how BG1 kept to themselves. And for some odd reason, Kin, who had been brooding for some time, was now acting… dazed?

"Climbing," said Tenten.

"Climb on," responded Temari. She watched her partner scale the wall with relative ease. She reached the top pretty quickly and started tapping.

After lowering her friend, the sand blonde approached, ready to help her take off the gear. When she tried lending a hand, the chocolate-haired girl merely turned away in an attempt to let her friend know she wasn't needed.

Tenten's actions were starting to aggravate Temari. Maybe if…

"Oi, Neji, aren't you climbing too fast?" the blonde shouted up to the dark-haired boy, who had apparently just reached the top.

She noticed both that he and her climbing partner started in surprise at her sudden inquiry.

"No, I don't think I am," he responded, a bit confused.

She also noticed how Tenten hurried out of the harness a bit faster than usual.

_Hm…_ _I wonder, _thought Temari.

**Cooking Class 1700**

Naruto warily eyed what seemed to be some sort of competition between Sasuke and Sakura. What competition they could derive from baking cakes, he had no clue. Sakura was no stranger in the kitchen, and Sasuke was one to master anything he encountered, so they were pretty evenly matched at this. Both were ordering their respective group to do this and that faster and better, as if racing to finish the better cake.

The blond boy noted how lucky he was that he didn't belong to either group. He continued mixing the frosting at his own pace. Though he worked without some scary hell-bent supervisor breathing down his neck, he was still a bit anxious as to what his teammate Deidara was up to.

The sempai had been in charge of the cake's production. The rest of their team, Chi and Kira, cautiously took orders from him, skeptical of his instruction.

Naruto returned his attention to his feuding friends. Okay, so they _must_ have officially declared war. Things might get even worse!

As he continued musing over his friends' situation, he heard Chi say, "Deidara-san, is this okay? The cake really expanded a lot."

"Yeah, it's absolutely perfect," replied the blond boy. "Let's place it in the oven now."

Naruto eyed the said cake, looking like it was too big to fit into the oven. He wondered if the upperclassman knew what he was doing, but hey, he knew nothing about the science of baking, so who was he to question his sempai?

"Okay, it's probably done," assessed Naruto after taking a taste of his concoction. He tried asking his teammates where to transfer the icing, but they were too busy doing other things, so he had to go look for the icing bag himself.

The transfer itself was pretty tricky, especially since the icing was really sticky, and he had the tendency to smear stuff all over him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he had finished. The icing had finally been conquered with minimal mess on his part, which was already a victory in itself.

"Naruto-kun," said Hinata, carrying a few soiled utensils, "is your team doing okay?"

"Huh? Yeah," he replied, wiping icing off his face and leaving a white trail across his face. "Why?"

"That cake looks awfully big," stated the girl, nervously eyeing the huge item in the oven.

The boy shrugged, reaching for the faucet nearby. "Deidara-sempai said it was okay…"

The two exchanged looks at the mention of his name.

"Uh-oh," muttered Naruto, finally realizing what might possibly be going on. He turned off the faucet and wiped his hand on a paper towel. "What do you think we should do about it?"

"I'll go talk to Kurenai-sensei," said Hinata, setting the utensils into the sink before seeking out their teacher.

"Deidara-sempai," Naruto called out in hopes of distracting him for a while.

"What?" responded the upperclassman. "Can't you see I'm busy here?"

"I, uh, finished the icing."

"Excellent." He looked right and left, as if watching out for someone. "You know what," he added, looking excited, "can I ask you to keep a secret?"

"Uh, a what? A secret?" Naruto wasn't much of an expert when it came it impromptu distractions. "Sure, you know me."

"I'm making sure this class will be a bang."

"R-really? In what way, Sempai?"

"Just watch out for it." Deidara turned to their other teammates to give them further instructions.

Naruto grabbed the chance to peek at the oven. "Is it just me, or this cake getting even bigger?" he said.

"So how's your cake doing?" asked Kurenai as she approached their working area.

"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" He moved aside to give their sensei a better view.

"Wait up, Kurenai-sensei," Deidara said, suddenly popping up and blocking the oven door. "I want this to be a surprise."

"Hm? A surprise, eh?" she asked. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yeah, yeah, sensei. I may not look like it, but I've had my share of baking experiences. We just prepared my specialty, so I'd like to keep it a secret for now."

"Oh, okay, I guess." She turned to leave. "Just call me if you have any problem, okay?"

"Naruto, what was that for?" asked Deidara as soon as Kurenai was out of ear shot. "Let's keep the cake a secret for a while, okay? It won't be much of a bang if everyone gets to see it beforehand."

"Sure, sure, Sempai," replied the kouhai. He was in the process of coming up with some sort of comment to distract him while he thought of some alternative plan when they heard a sudden commotion.

"Hey, where did the spatula go?" Karin was saying, clanging the pans and bowls as she looked for the said utensil.

"How the hell are we supposed to know where you misplaced your damn spatula?" Hidan, a member of the other team replied.

"Who asked you?"

Hidan was about to continue spouting similar remarks when Sakura, his teammate, cut in. "Sempai, you don't need to bother with people like them."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" demanded Sasuke. Though he had said this in a passive voice, traces of irritation could be seen on his face.

"Oh, I expected that someone such as yourself should know what I meant by that."

If Naruto were a computer screen, he would have been displaying a "Loading" sign right about now. The two were _talking_. Uh… _trash talking_, to be more exact. That was a little too much for the blond boy's processors to handle, causing his processes to lag.

Fingers snapped in front of his face, jumpstarting his interface.

"Huh? What?" It took his approximately 1.1 seconds to remember what the hell it was that put him into temporary shock.

"You were losing it for a second," said Deidara. "Were you about to say something?"

"Uh, no, wait a sec, Sempai," muttered Naruto as he made his way to his two friends, prepared to push them apart if the need arose.

**Gardening Class 1700**

"Oi, Kiba, how's your head?" Kankurou asked, stifling a chuckle behind his fist.

"Fine, _thank you_" was Kiba's sarcastic reply, rubbing his bruised head.

Rei couldn't help chuckling from the adjacent plot.

"Shut up, Rei!" Kiba shouted at him.

He recalled how surprised he had been when that girl had tackled him. He certainly hadn't known how to react. He barely remembered trying to pull the basketball away from her reach. He couldn't even tell if she was aiming for the ball or if she was aiming for _him_. Either way, he would have still ended up with that bruise on his head.

What was most surprising, a surprise amongst surprises, was the look on Rin's face when she got up. She looked absolutely embarrassed, her face a bright red. That was definitely one face he thought she wasn't even _capable_ of making.

**Cooking Class**

"Okay, could someone tell me what's going on?" demanded Naruto as he approached his two feuding friends.

"You've got to be kidding me. What could we have done to your plates?" maintained one of the factions' members.

"Our cake is almost done, so stop trying to sabotage us," countered another from the opposing team.

"Sabotage? You're suffering from an overly active imagination, aren't you?"

Similar exchanges flew between the two factions while the other teams staredon in mystification.

Naruto frowned, irritated of being ignored.

He was just about to attempt all means possible to get the two sides to talk it over when they heard a sudden shriek.

"D-deidara-san! The cake!" shouted Chi, pointing at what was supposed to be the said pastry. It had doubled up in size and was looked as if it were about to explode inside the oven.

"Hey, get the cake out!" someone yelled.

Naruto rushed towards the oven, grabbed the oven mitts and yanked the oven open. It was still expanding though, and it was too big to pull out.

"Dei-deidara-sempai," muttered Naruto, stepping away from the potential catastrophe.

Someone must have shouted to run or something of that sort, but no one heard it.

No one was sure exactly how it happened, but afterwards, everyone could now officially claim that they'd actually seen a cake explode. No one left the room clean from cake splatter.

…

G4's survey was taking full swing that afternoon as well.

A curious Neji and Lee read the questionnaire as they headed towards their cabin.

Kage managed to get some of their sempai to take it as well. Even the great Itachi, stoic Sasori and the intimidating Hidan were seen with those pieces of paper. Whether they would complete the questionnaire and submit them were yet to be confirmed.

The G3 girls, Kira and Miyo sat at their doorsteps, answering something that could most likely the same survey, while the usually shy and overlooked Shiho from G1 even volunteered to answer it.

**Eating Area 1800**

"Deidara-sempai, Tobi-kun, could you answer this survey for us?"

"A survey?" exclaimed Deidara, waving a hand in the air as if to dismiss such a horrendous idea. "You've got to be kidding me." He still had the remnants of his explosive cake all over his shirt.

"Ooh, ooh, Sempai, let's answer it!" said Tobi, already taking a copy from Shinju.

"No way in hell." The blond upperclassman glared at Shinju and Kano. "You guys are up to something, aren't you?"

"Of course we are," replied the raven-haired Shinju, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "We just placed a bucket of cockroaches in your bunk bed."

Kano chuckled at the shocked expression that registered on the blond sempai's face. "Sempai, she's just pulling your leg."

Dei glared at them, turning to leave. "Keep out of my way, and I won't bother you," he warned them.

"Wait, wait, wait!" whined Tobi, grabbing the upperclassman by the shirt. "Let's answer this! Let's!"

"Tobi. I am _not_ obligated to this, so let go of me!"

"Sempaaaaai," whined Tobi, giving his sempai the sad puppy dog eyes.

"Now, now, no need to cry, Tobi," said Shinju, a vengeful look on her face.

That slight nudge was all it took for the sophomore to start sobbing like an overgrown baby.

"You're not making me - Toooobi!" Deidara glanced around at the people staring at them. "Oi, oi! I didn't do this!" he insisted. If Deidara was known for his theatrics, Tobi was even more well-known for his tantrums.

The raven-haired boy continued wailing.

"Nah-uh, you did," Shinju accused Deidara, an impish tone in her voice. Kano was beside herself in laughter.

"Gimme a pen!" the blond upperclassman said through clenched teeth.

"Yay! Deidara-sempai agreed to help!" cheered Tobi, suddenly perky again.

"Were you pretending, you little – oh no, don't do that _again_!" He slapped a hand on his forehead when his kouhai started sobbing again. "Look, Tobi, I'm gonna answer the damn survey, okay?!"

Tobi grinned and gave the two girls a thumbs up as his sempai answered the survey on the nearest picnic table, mumbling incoherent profanities under his breath.

Kano and Shinju smiled conspiratorially back at him. Operation Sic Tobi on Deidara was a success.

**Cabin Path 1800**

"Stupid sempai," grumbled Ino as she tried combing cake off her hair, spreading it even more in the process. "Ugh. Stupid exploding cake."

Kurenai had dismissed them as soon as they'd cleaned up Deidara's mess. The said sempai had received an appropriate scolding that inevitably fell on deaf ears. He was pretty cheerful as he was cleaning up, even humming a sunny tune.

Ino had left the class as soon as they were released, making a big mistake in doing so. What would she look like, alone and showered with crushed cake? She felt absolutely embarrassed in her dirty state right now, not wanting to be seen as she walked towards her cabin but nonetheless needing to do so. She needed a shower, and though her cabin will soon be occupied by other undesirables, it was still a haven despite its disagreeable occupants.

Though she had worn an apron and the rest of the required uniform, she still managed to get cake stuck in her hair, seeing as it was long and all (she had refused to wear a hair net). She inattentively wiped the smear off her skirt, which she had acquired upon rushing out of the room – she had taken her "costume" off and wasn't expecting any of the mess to be smeared on the doorway. She was preoccupied enough not to notice where she was going, inevitably bumping into someone.

"Ino-chan, you okay?" It was one of the voices she didn't want to hear at that moment

The blonde couldn't bear to force herself to look up. "Yahiko-sempai?" she asked awkwardly, embarrassed, still looking downward.

"What is that?" he asked, worried, seeing the mush on her hair. "Some sort of cupcake?" Amusement crept into his tone in that last statement.

"Uh, I'm just fine," she replied, still refusing to meet his gaze. "I need to go-" She moved past him and headed right into the next person she didn't want to see.

She saw the flicker of recognition in Sai's eyes when he saw her but received no further reaction from him. He neither slowed his pace nor looked at her. They passed each other, and she ran for the cabin. Of all people, why _them_, and why _now_?

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note:** What excuse do I have for updating late this time? Hm… finals (thank God the semester is over and I have a semester break)? Hm… _Yuki Kaori_'s awesome works? Ah, reading her works gives you that stabbed-in-the-heart hurt that just won't go away. It still hurts; remembering the ending of her _Godchild Cain_ (under two titles, _Count Cain_ and _Godchild_) makes me want to roll over and die, amongst all the other bittersweet endings… _Angel Sanctuary_ also has me crawling on the ground for more. Yeah, she's _that_ awesome…

MBF, _My Best Friend the Writer's Block_, is a collection of one shots I made. Check 'em out if you want. SuiKa in the first chapter, a horror story in another, and a Zabuza one shot I made for creative writing class. There are some crack and others in there, so I'd appreciate it if you give 'em a shot. Thanks.

**Side notes:**

(1) Oh my, Sasuke and Sakura didn't reconcile after all. The real war starts now. Don't worry, I'll make it quick. I'll round this all up within a few more chapters. I'll try not to exceed 25 chapters at best, okay? I don't want a dragging never-ending epic here. I've never went this far in a fan fiction before, so I'm pretty unorganized. I am so sorry! Additionally, though you may think this will drag on because of this newfound feud, I promise you it's the best way to end things (though some may disagree), in my opinion. Please bear with me!

(2) Kin is acting so embarrassed – how cute, ne? (Just like the usually serious Erza in Fairy Tail, falling into a hole and going "Kyaaa!" It was so cute haha.)

(3) Shiho! Well, remember her from the manga? Well, I just noticed how much spoilers I always have in my fan fictions, so I'll be quiet about her. I don't consider her a threat… yet… You may know what I mean by that…

(4) I know who Tobi really is, but I hope you guys can understand why I made him such a whiny baby. Sorry! I really couldn't help myself!

**Next Time:**

"_You okay, Yah?" asked Nagato when the girl had strolled off. "You look… awed…"_

"_Haku just talked to me," he said incredulously, his mouth still hanging open._

_Konan laughed at her friend's expression. _


	23. Entry 20: Tug of War

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 20 – Tug of War**

**DAY 5**

**Cooking Class 1800**

"You still have some cake in your hair," said Naruto, pointing at his friend's jet black hair.

Sasuke combed his pale fingers through his bangs and shook the remnants of the explosive cake off his hand and into the sink. "There," he said with a frustrated sigh. What he hated more than cleaning up someone else's mess was getting the said mess in his hair. There was nothing more horrible to him than a bad hair day, if such a thing had ever existed in his world. How could one measly – albeit explosive – cake do so much damage?

Additionally, because of the ruckus, the other cakes were left unfinished and had to be disposed of. Well, so much for cake for dinner… but it wasn't like they were a hundred percent sure there creations were edible…

Naruto dipped his head under the faucet, letting the running water do the job for him. He straightened up and shook his head as only a wet dog could have and sent water flying in every direction.

"Use a towel," grumbled Sasuke, backing off.

Naruto straightened up, grinning like an idiot while holding up a peace sign.

Sasuke vaguely wondered if the blond boy had done that purposely or if it was just programmed into his DNA to act like such an uncool slob.

"Naruto! Heads up!"

A towel flew towards them, and Naruto was quick enough to catch it. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

Sasuke met her gaze from across the room, and the two exchanged glares. She better not be planning on doing what he was suspecting her of planning on doing.

Naruto, still drying his wet spikes with the towel, noticed the glaring game between his friends. No one had quite explained to him what was going on yet, and he was getting more annoyed, and not to mention more confused, with their little games. Seeing as neither was willing enough to break eye contact any time soon, he planted himself in front of Sasuke and returned the glare in Sakura's stead.

"Naruto," said his ebony-haired friend in acknowledgement of his intervening presence.

"Sasuke." Naruto glanced at Sakura. "Now could someone tell me what's going on? In laymen's terms? I don't speak _genius_."

He noticed the corners of Sasuke's mouth rise slightly in amusement. "Well, how can I explain it…?" he asked in a tone that one would only use when teasing a child.

The blond boy raised an eyebrow at him. "Well?"

"Naruto! What're you waiting for?" Sakura suddenly interrupted, shoving right between them, as if Sasuke held no presence for her, even if she was practically pushing him away with one hand. "Let's go!"

She grabbed the baffled Naruto by the wrist and pulled him away, an equally confused Hinata trailing after them. As he was practically dragged off by some sort of monstrous force he was never aware his pink-haired friend possessed, he noticed the aggravated look on his bestfriend's face that only a squabble with his older brother could have brought out.

Then it became crystal clear. First of all, yes, the two were indeed in a _war_, and a serious one at that. Secondly, the worst news of all, he was stuck right dab in the middle of it.

**Cabin Path 1810**

"Sakura-chan."

The pink-haired girl nodded to the upperclassman. "Hana-sempai."

Hinata looked sympathetically at Naruto, whom Sakura had finally relieved from the tight death grip.

"You guys look… well," continued Hana, apparently dismissing their disheveled appearance. "Did something happen?"

"I guess you can say that," Sakura replied casually.

"Care to tell me what happened then?"

"Um… Maybe later, Sempai. Ja ne."

"What's with her?" Hana asked the remaining two.

"I-I don't know," the raven-haired girl replied.

"Me neither," said Naruto, wincing as the circulation finally resumed to his wrist. "But, man, I didn't know she even had this sort of strength."

"It had something to do with Sasuke," supplied Hinata. "I believe they may have _officially_ started a war this time."

"Is that so?" their upperclassman remarked, worried.

**Cabin B1 steps 1830**

"Sempai!" Mikan hopped as she approached them, a handful of papers in her hands.

Yahiko started at hearing his name, taking a step behind Nagato, as if trying to place a visible barrier between him and whoever it may be that was seeking him.

"You're Mikan-chan, right?" said Nagato, ignoring his friend's aberrant behavior.

"What's up?" the orange-haired upperclassman asked, a bit too casually, from behind his pal.

She thrust the papers forward, grinning. "Take one each please."

"What is it?" asked the red-haired sempai, taking one of the copies.

"A survey?" Yahiko asked, skeptical.

"Please submit those when you're done to our cabin, G4. Thank you!" She skipped away merrily.

"Ah, we've been found out." Nagato laughed.

"Ugh," groaned his friend. If there was at least one thing the orange-haired boy was supposed to be worried about: it may not be quite a secret that he had been involved in the recent pranks. He'd almost forgotten how cruel girls could be sometimes. His fears were fueled all the more that afternoon when some of the girls he'd been talking to slipped in a few derogatory remarks about "whoever that attention-deficit loser was" and that "he was going to pay big time". He couldn't tell whether they were threatening him knowing he was involved or just making some random offhand comment, which was why he was now worriedly watching out for his tail.

_Damn, I shouldn't have thrown the first attack at the food fight_, he mentally lamented.

"You worried?" Nagato asked him.

"Nah, of course not." He browsed through the questionnaire. "Okay, maybe a little."

"Nagato-kun! Yahiko-kun!"

"What, Konan?" he asked inattentively, as the slender girl with a chalky complexion and prussian hair pulled up in a bun approached them, holding up a similar sheet of paper.

"Ah, you received the same survey too?" she asked.

"Yeah," replied Nagato.

"I don't plan to answer it," said Yahiko. "I have bigger things to worry about."

"Too bad. That would be such a waste," said another girl, coming up behind Konan.

"Hey, Haku-san," Nagato greeted the newcomer. Yahiko merely gaped at her.

"This survey could really help cool things down," continued Haku, browsing through the questions. "Right?"

"Definitely," said Konan.

Haku pursed her glossy lips as she brushed back a loose strand of her long mahogany tresses. "Ne, Yahiko-san, could you reconsider answering this? If you aren't too busy?"

The said teen could only nod his head, still gaping open-mouthed at her.

"Domo," she said gratefully. "We'll be one step closer to resolving things this way. Ja ne." She turned and left, as if in a hurry to find more correspondents to the survey.

"You okay, Yah?" asked Nagato when the girl had strolled off. "You look… awed…"

"Haku just talked to me," he said incredulously, his mouth still hanging open.

Konan laughed. "Ah, wise of G4 to employ The Princess in their assignment." Haku was perhaps _the_ prettiest girls in their school, and most guys were far too intimidated by her looks to give her a shot. She was untouchable, so to speak.

"So you really are going to answer it?" asked Nagato.

"Whatever The Princess says," Yahiko replied, still awestruck.

**Eating Area 1900**

"Did she say something?" asked Sasuke as they entered the dining area.

"No, not really," replied Naruto. "Which reminds me, you haven't either." He raised an eyebrow at his friend, who ignored the statement.

The blond teen groaned in annoyance. "But she was unusually cheerful," he continued. "Must've been a load off her shoulders knowing she didn't need to be pushed around by you anymore."

"Such a creative deduction."

"You and your three-syllable words," muttered Naruto.

They queued up for their food, and the blond boy spent that time interrogating his tight-lipped pal. Soon after they finished ordering their food, Sakura and Hinata's table came into view.

This was when the little game of tug of war started.

Sakura invited Naruto to their table, but Sasuke dragged him off. After a while, Sakura came up to the boys' tables, planted herself on the bench between the two and talked to Naruto as if she hadn't seen Sasuke, who in turn, "accidentally" shoved her with his elbow. She bumped him back, and Naruto had to interfere and push them apart before they got into some sort of fistfight.

Of course, the rest of the camp population wasn't ignorant enough not to notice this and proceeded to enjoy the show. The survey had been working to smoothen the edges the debate had caused, but a little fun was in order after such a taxing period of time, right?

Well, what was more entertaining than watching the two head debaters act as if the other didn't exist while still spiting each other despite that?

Ino was more than doubtful though. She understood the situation just as much as everyone else knew – which is to say, she knew _nothing_. Nada. The most prevalent assumption was that perhaps Sasuke had gone too far and Sakura had gone insane, neither of which she deemed possible enough.

She watched as the two continued their charade with the poor Naruto trapped in the middle.

Perhaps reconciliation with a certain pink-haired girl was long overdue, noted the blond girl.

**Cabin G5 1930**

"That was fun, wasn't it?"

When Ino didn't reply, Suigetsu continued. "Still not talking to me?"

She stopped walking and turned to face him. "What?" she asked in an exasperated tone.

"Nothing, never mind, you wouldn't want to hear it," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Maybe later…"

"Just spit it out already," she said, annoyed that he'd bothered her for nothing.

"I suppose you don't remember what you said when I fished you out of the lake… I suppose no one would, after what happened… Not that it matters, really."

"What? I said _something_?" she asked in disbelief. "What did I say?" She remembered the strange dream she was having when she was drowning – no, what if she'd said something strange? What if she'd called out his –

"Uh, what did you say again?" said Suigetsu, scratching his chin in deep thought.

She glared at him.

"I think you were mumbling something incoherent after I gave you AR."

She punched him really hard on the arm. "YOU GAVE ME ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION?!"

"Yow! Well, I didn't touch your lips with mine, if that's what you're thinking!" he shouted back, nursing his bruised arm.

"So how _did_ you do AR?"

"I put my hand around your lips, duh," he replied. "Going around kissing drowned girls isn't my thing, you know."

"That better be what really happened!"

"Ask anyone."

"…So, what was it that I said?"

"Huh? I forgot."

She punched him again on the same spot.

"Yow! I swear I forgot! I just brought it up for conversation coz I happened to remember it just now!"

"Did someone else hear? Whatever it was I said-"

"I doubt it… you were a bit incoherent."

"Well, whatever it is I said, don't tell anyone about it, got that?" She held up a fist. "Or else."

"Aye, aye, ma'am," he replied, backing away.

"Good." She turned around and marched off.

"Later," Suigetsu called out with a wave of his hand.

He watched as she disappeared around the corner, and he smiled mischievously to himself.

"Yup, you didn't say anything at all," he said.

**Cabin G5 1940**

"Quite a show there."

"Thanks," replied Sakura, smiling as she entered the cabin. "Hope you enjoyed it."

Karin smiled back but replaced it with a grimace as soon as she passed the pink-haired girl. She hated it when her fake smiles were returned.

"Quite a show indeed," echoed someone else as the redhead left their temporary residence.

Sakura looked at the cabin door as a certain blonde entered, a suspicious look on her face.

"Was that what I thought it was back there, or are you just pulling my leg?" asked Ino.

"Hm… I don't know. If I said I told Sasuke off and started a war against him, would you even believe it?"

Ino shrieked, practically jumping at her friend. "You've come to your senses!" she shouted.

"But I think I'm a going to lose another one!" replied Sakura, covering her ears.

"This calls for a celebration. Right, Hinata?" Ino asked the dark-haired girl at the door.

"Yeah," replied the flustered girl. "I think…" She would have felt happy for Sakura's newfound courage or whatever it was they were celebrating, but she felt too sorry for Naruto to be in any mood to celebrate anything for a while.

"I need your help though," said Sakura.

"Anything," replied the overjoyed Ino.

"Hana-sempai's on my tail about it. Can you help me lead her off?"

"She is?"

"I think she wants to 'help', but I don't think I'll need that type of help any time soon."

"I get what you mean," mused Ino.

"B-but shouldn't you at least talk to her about it?" asked Hinata. "She just wants to help, after all."

Sakura shook her head. "Let me take care of this my _own_ way. Anyway, G4 did a good job calming everyone down. I'm sure they're all aware this is a personal vendetta and that they have nothing to do with this anymore, right?"

"Absolutely right. Don't forget, I'll be supporting you!" announced Ino.

Their indigo-haired cabinmate sighed in defeat as the two commenced on strategizing their next move. There was a good reason the two were best friends. When they set themselves on a similar goal, there was nothing they couldn't or wouldn't do together.

Outside, a certain redhead smiled to herself in satisfaction.

**Cabin B5 2000**

"Naruto!" shouted Sakura, shoving the door open.

Sai, sitting on Naruto's bunk, looked at her for only a second before returning his gaze to the book in his hand.

"Hey, Sakura," greeted Suigetsu from his second-level bunk bed, stifling a chuckle. "Naruto's not here right now. But guess who is."

Sitting on the bunk below him with a towel draped over his head, Sasuke glared at her, and she glared back, as was protocol by now. Had it not been for the fact that Sasuke was still shirtless and slightly dripping wet, Sakura wouldn't have broken eye contact first and stormed out of the room, saying, "I'll go look elsewhere then."

Suigetsu erupted in a loud guffaw.

"Why don't you return the favor?" he suggested afterwards, breathless. He dipped his head over the edge of his bunk to face Sasuke. "You can also barge in just around the time she finishes taking a ba – Mph!" A pillow hit him squarely in the face, cutting him off.

"Not interested," Sasuke replied as he continued drying his hair with the towel. "She's not much to look at."

His aqua-haired cabinmate leaned even further over the edge of his bunk. "Oh, and how would you know that?" he asked accusingly.

Sasuke picked up the pillow he had just used as a precautionary warning.

Suigetsu chuckled, transferring his gaze to their other cabinmate. Sai seemed as if he were reading the book he held, but on further inspection, he looked more like he was thinking about something else, his eyes focused elsewhere. _Man_, thought Suigetsu, grinning, _it's_ _so easy to mess with these guys._

**Cabin G5 a few minutes past 2000**

"Gone out on a little rendezvous?" teased Ino when Sakura returned to their cabin and slammed the door behind her.

"Yeah, just making a scene," replied the pink-haired girl, looking a little flushed.

"What's wrong?" Her blond friend approached her, worried.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

Ino crossed her arms. "You don't look like it."

"Actually, that was really embarrassing," admitted Sakura.

"You, embarrassed?" Ino was astounded.

Like I've said before, it wasn't like she hadn't seen the guy half-naked before.

Ino gave her friend a calculating look.

"It wasn't like I _showed_ them that I was embarrassed," argued Sakura.

"We have to work on it then."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Can we pretend I just _didn't_ say anything?" He looked thoughtfully at Ino. "I'm _doing_ something about my problem now. How about you?"

"Me? What problem?" Ino asked smugly, looking away to hide the discomfort on her face. Did she really say something after Suigetsu saved her?

**Cabin Path 2030**

"Naruto-kun!" exclaimed Hinata, rushing towards the bush. "Is that you?"

"Shh!" shushed Naruto as he peered from behind the shrub. "I'll be found out if you keep talking to me."

"But your hair was sticking out…" A worried expression fell on her face. "And I don't think you should be staying out here too long. It won't be… healthy…"

"I just need to stay here until everyone calms down," he justified, the worried look on her face disturbing him. He looked right and left for possible interlopers. "Okay, the coast is clear, I guess." He went around the bush and approached her, taking her hand. "Let's go somewhere they won't find us first."

"Uh-uh, w-wait!" Hinata exclaimed suddenly. The idea of the two of them alone together late at night was making her incoherent. "I-I think I-I have somewhere I need to be."

Naruto looked at her, confused. "You don't look okay."

Even with the dim streetlights hanging above them, the blush was evident on her pale face, though it was more of a darkening of skin tone than anything else with that lighting.

"Are you sure?" he asked, moving closer. He put a hand on her forehead, and she jumped back, pulling her hand away as well.

The surprised look on his face made her stammer out, "S-sorry."

"Yeah, sorry, too," he replied, embarrassed. "I should… I should just walk you back, right? It's getting late."

"N-no, I'll be fine. Besides, Sakura might see you. We wouldn't want that, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Um… And don't stay out too late either."

"Yeah."

The two stood there awkwardly for a while.

"On second thought, let me walk you back to your cabin. I need to go turn myself in before curfew in any case. Why try avoiding the inevitable, right?"

"O-okay."

As Naruto walked ahead of her, Hinata sighed, staring at his back and observing the wrinkles that formed on his shirt as he moved.

"_He's held your hand before, right? Put his arm around you?" Kano had asked just the other day back in cabin G4._

"_Yeah." Hinata's face was a rosy pink. _But they'd never been alone since the party before, and they had been too preoccupied over the feud that time.

"_So he likes you too." The other girls nodded in agreement._

"_Um…"_

"_But he hasn't said it yet," mused Hana._

"_Does he have to?" asked Mikan, looking a bit out-of-place with all the girl talk. She probably preferred reading manga at that point than doing anything else._

"_Well, he is rather vague," commented Sakura._

"_Of course he has to say it," Shinju said authoritatively. Kano and Hana nodded their heads, while Mikan started poking a nail in the floorboards._

"_He has to say it," repeated Shinju._

"_Why don't you just confess already?" Mikan blurted out. "That's what most girls do in manga."_

_Hinata blushed a brighter crimson, while Hana gave her curly-haired friend a reprimanding look._

"_But on the other hand, you better not," amended Mikan. "Most girls who do that in manga get turned down. Anyway, don't listen to me. Pretend I didn't say anything."_

_She inched away from the circle and returned her attention to the nail on the floorboard._

_Everyone else gave Hinata encouraging looks. It'll be okay._

In any case, she liked him. But does he feel the same way?

The cabins came into view.

**Cabin B5**

First of all, Naruto didn't want Hinata worrying about him; secondly, it would be hard to evade the patrolling teachers especially since his hair stood out in the dark; and lastly, there was _absolutely_ no way he was capable of sleeping _outdoors_. These outweighed the fact that Sasuke _might_ (which most likely equated to a probable 100%) try to involve him in whatever anti-Sakura tactics he could have come up with while his blond friend was hiding behind a bush. So he found himself returning to their cabin.

It was a good thing he managed to elude Sakura when he walked Hinata back to her cabin. Sasuke was going to be a different story though.

He was surprised to meet a different raven-haired boy at the door though. There was Sai, sitting on the doorstep with the all too familiar canvas on his lap and staring up at the dark sky.

Naruto noticed a major difference on the canvas – it was now black instead of white. "Any improvements?" he couldn't help asking.

Sai just nodded his head without looking his way.

"Is Sasuke still –"

"Naruto." Speaking of the devil, Sasuke appeared at the door, an expectant look on his face. _He better not be planning something_, Naruto inwardly groaned as he stepped into the cabin after his friend.

Sai remained on the doorstep, looking down at the canvas now. On it was an exact copy of the night sky, but that was only because he had needed something to occupy himself. Despite that, an all too familiar memory came to mind once more.

"_Yeah, I know." The curtain opened a couple of inches, sending a beam of light unto the bed. A shadow soon fell over most of it as what was presumably Suigetsu's head interrupted the shaft of light. "Yo, Sai, you awake?" He turned to one side under the covers, and he knew his aqua-haired cabinmate heard the shuffling of the sheets._

_Sai didn't know what his intrusive friend wanted, but he wasn't in much of a conversing mood._

"_Don't bother him," he heard Sasuke's muffled voice from the other side of the curtain. "He's been in there since 9 o'clock. He's obviously asleep."_

"_Hey, I have something interesting to tell you," said Suigetsu, ignoring Sasuke. He continued the rest in a whisper. Sai didn't respond, his head buried under the blanket._

"_I'm done," the star swimmer said aloud afterwards, his voice suddenly more distant through the curtain, as he must have already descended the ladder. "I'm worn out," he added in a voice that contrasted against what he'd just said. "Gotta get some sleep."_

_He heard the quiet conversation that ensued between Sasuke and Naruto afterwards, and despite the fact that he couldn't make out exactly what they were talking about, he could recognize the serious tone they were using._

That night, Suigetsu's words rang in his ears. "_I really don't know if I should tell you this_," Suigetsu had said, an excited edge to his voice. "_When I fished Ino out of the lake… Should tell you…? What the heck, might as well… When I fished Ino out, she was sorta calling your name_."

Sai didn't know whether to believe it or shake it off. Either way, it wasn't going to change things. _"She was calling your name_." Or can it?

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note:** Hello, lovelies! I know, it's not on time, Miamay (can I call you Miamay?), but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter just as much as I did making it! This is a super-packed, super crazy mush of everything I've got. I'm not going to go all out with all the might-be pairings (I like being subtle; in fact, that's the only way I can be), but expect more fluff later on. As you've noticed, I'm gearing the attention away from the OC's, so rejoice, everyone. Anyway, class resumed and I'm back in Chem lab hell. And I'll break my back with some of the fattest books ever.

**Side notes:**

(1) Hana is a concerned, intuitive sempai who knows how to deal with matters of the heart, so she tends to involve herself in these things to help her friends. She seems to sense something going on between… ahem, ahem… Anyway, Sakura thinks she's got it all wrong, so she's hoping to get Hana from talking her out of it, which she's expecting her sempai might do.

(2) Ignoring each other while spiting each other would have more or less of a biographical context in it. I did that with a certain someone before, and the feud's not been resolved yet, especially since that certain someone followed me to college (not literally). Anyway, I can be very, very mean when I'm in the mood, which I'm ashamed of, but it's too integrated in my system, so I can't do anything about it. I suppose the campers enjoyed the show as much as my high school classmates enjoyed ours from before.

(3) Haku's a **girl** in my fic, and the prettiest one at that. The reason Yahiko's so awestruck by her is the fact that she's so 'unattainable', though the reason for that is every single guy is intimidated by her beauty.

(4) That Cabin B5 scene was _shameless fan service_. I should get a life. Or a boyfriend. A boyfriend that would look cool in a cosplay. Yum.

(5) "I should just walk you back, right?" – Isn't that sweet when the guy walks the girl home? LOL that's pretty evident in anime where guys just have this sort of guy code where they can never let a girl walk home by herself in case something bad happens. Apparently, this is the case with my sister and her male friends, who don't leave her or her girlfriends until their ride arrives, especially when it's late. So sweet…

(6) 'In any case, she liked him. But does he feel the same way?' – That's one of the things I hate about shoujo manga, where the idiot female main character questions her boyfriend's love even though he goes through all the trouble of lying for her, even defying his parents, risking getting kicked out of school, probably even kidnapping her or beating someone up. Sheesh. At least in this case, Naruto is somewhat vague, is he not? He's never even once mentioned it to anyone before. Now _that_ is vague.

**This chapters title: **A tug of war over Naruto? A little tug at the heartstrings here and there? Perhaps…

**Next Time:**

"_Kankurou."_

"_Temari." _

_It was not that Kankurou was forgetful, or that he was an absolute idiot. Of course he knew he'd eventually need to confront his sister at one point or another. He was just taking his time and waiting for her to calm down, is all. Through experience, he knew for a fact that that strategy worked better… most of the time anyway._


	24. Entry 21: Confessions

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**Author's Note:** I know it's _super_ _late_. Sorry for the long wait. If it wasn't for that heart-crushing manga update, I would have taken longer to write this.

**CHAPTER 21 – Confessions (?)**

**DAY 6**

**Cabin B5 0540**

"I am definitely _not_ helping you with your plans of world domination."

"I am _not_ asking you to help me dominate the world. Maybe later, but I have different plans in mind right now."

Naruto just pouted back.

They were getting ready for swimming class, and the blond looked as if he had no intention to leave the cabin lest Sasuke were to recruit him to join the dark side, as he had been trying to do the whole night prior.

Sasuke couldn't help chuckling at his best friend, who looked like one of those little brats just about to explode in a full-blown tantrum. He was sitting on his bunk bed, his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms crossed over them. He had that "give-em-hell" pout on his face that just refused to leave.

"Just get up already," said the raven-haired teen.

"No" was his friend's stubborn answer.

Just then, Suigetsu exited from the bathroom, a towel over his head, water from his wet mane still dripping down his shirt. "What's up?" he asked.

"Naruto doesn't want to leave the cabin today," answered Sasuke, as a father would explain why his son wouldn't want to attend the first day of kindergarten.

"You can't make me," Naruto said childishly, his eyebrows set.

"Do you need help carrying him?" laughed Suigetsu.

"Hm, I bet I can do it myself," replied Sasuke, a thoughtful look on his face. "But he might do a lot of flailing. An extra pair of hands would help."

"Sweet," chimed their aqua-haired cabinmate. He turned to towards fourth member of their cabin. "Up for it, Sai?"

"No thanks," said Sai, the tone in his voice quite different to the one they'd been used to for the last few days.

He closed his bag and climbed down his bunk, only to find his cabinmates staring at him. "What?" he asked, confusion managing to filter through his usually passive face.

"Sai's awake," uttered Naruto in disbelief. Sasuke and Suigetsu just stared at him.

The corners of Sai's mouth started turning up. "What? Did you think I was asleep all this time?" By the time he'd finished saying that, the sides of his lips had pulled up into what could be best described as a smile. A _smile_. Like a 'haha, I think something's funny' smile.

Naruto started slapping his cheeks. "I'm awake, I'm awake," he chanted.

Meanwhile, Suigetsu stepped towards Sai and started pinching his snow-white cheeks. "I think your face is broken," he said. "Your lips started moving the way they're not supposed to. Don't you have warranty or something?"

Sai pulled his hands away and started laughing. "No, my face is fine. _I'm_ fine."

"I'm so happy for you!" cried Naruto, who, for some reason, had already leapt off the bed and clamped his arms around his raven-haired friend's waist. "I missed you!"

"Cut it out, you two!" reprimanded Sasuke. Suigetsu kept poking Sai's face to see if the smile would somehow magically disappear, while Naruto continued to cling to him like a baby koala.

Sai ended up dragging Naruto out of the cabin that morning, and Sasuke was grateful he didn't need to forcefully carry him out as he had initially planned.

**Cabin Path 0600**

"I feel as if we haven't talked in such a long time!" laughed Ino.

Walking beside her, Sakura laughed, saying, "Not hearing your loud voice in a while makes me feel the same way."

Despite the laughter – laughter! – that came from her cabinmates, Hinata walked behind them sluggishly, as worried as she'd been the previous night. If only she hadn't been thinking those thoughts! Sure, Naruto liked her, but did he like her as a friend or something… else? He'd always been friendly, and maybe he was just being extra nice with her because she looked so frail and fragile? The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt.

She didn't like to think she'd been deceiving herself all this time, thinking he has feelings for her when it may not be the case all along. Though she liked the feeling of being _loved_, whether she was just dreaming it up or not, she couldn't live with _lying_ to herself. So unless she knew how he felt, she didn't want to spoil herself with all these fantasies. It might hurt, but she would need to avoid him for now, as she had last night.

**Old Port 0630**

"Cannonball!"

A huge splashed followed as Kiba dove from the port, spraying water on his nearby companions.

"Kiba!" complained Mikan, hugging the port ladder rungs for dear life. She was wearing floaters – something Kage had insisted on, and which she'd reluctantly but thankfully agreed on wearing nonetheless –, yet she couldn't get herself to even _float_ around, even for just a little bit.

"C'mon, Mikan!" complained Shinju. "Let go already! You'll never learn to swim if you – yaaaah!" She suddenly submerged, as if pulled down by an unknown force, and resurfaced again after a second or two. "Damn it! Who grabbed my leg?!" she yelled, spewing out water, her face flushed as she looked around for the culprit. "I almost drowned!" She looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

"Sorry, Shinju," said Kiba, coming up as well. "I sort of lost my bearings and grabbed your leg by accident."

"I'll give you bearings!" screamed the raven-haired girl as Kankurou and Rei tried to restrain her. Hana was floating on her back nearby, relaxing and totally avoiding the mess.

Mikan grasped the ladder rungs tighter, almost sobbing. Her companions were either horrible in the water – Shinju panicked easily, and though Hana was calm about it, she wasn't very good at it either –, or extremely dangerous in it. She would definitely drown with this bunch.

It was, of course, very comical for someone who couldn't swim to actually be in a swimming class where no one bothers to teach you to swim. Ebisu didn't actually care what the campers did during his class, as long as there was no horse-playing or drowning going on. He even sat on a lounging chair on the port with his arms crossed, watching over his wards with disinterest.

"Get off already," ordered Kage as he swam towards Mikan.

She shook her head, the teary look still on her face. "_Yaa_," she whined.

"I'll teach you how to swim."

"No. You'll just try and drown me."

"Come on, you don't trust me?" he asked, annoyed, his generous offer having been responded with such distrust.

"Course not. State your reasons first."

Kage felt the vein in his forehead getting more congested by the second. "I can't just leave someone as pathetic as you holding on to the ladder all day. Now, get down."

"Yaa," she whined. "It's too deep!"

"It's only seven feet!"

"Seven feet?! Last time it was six! Six! I can't even do six! And that's just almost a foot over my head! Seven is too much!"

While their little bunch messed about at the port, BG5 were hanging around the floating platform located halfway between the buoys and the dock. Karin was being distant as usual, sitting at one end of the platform while her cabinmates gathered at the opposite side.

Sakura and Ino were keeping to themselves, conversing nonchalantly, while a visibly worried Hinata sat a bit away from them.

She adjusted the sarong around her hips, wishing she'd brought a longer one so she could cover her chest. Why did she wear this bathing suit again? It was a one-piece suit, but it was a bit low in front – she'd never shown cleavage in public before, not even a little bit! –, and didn't cover her back at all. It was the one bathing suit she never planned wearing. Why did she wear it then?! Maybe Naruto would like it, she'd thought. She was embarrassed to think of him as that type of guy. Was he?

As far as she'd seen, he looked as if he were avoiding looking at her the entire class. Was it what because of last night? Or because of the bathing suit? She was getting dizzy just thinking about it.

She was so busy thinking about those things she didn't even notice him approach. "Hinata-chan." She started when she heard his voice.

Naruto floated closer, so close in fact that he placed his hands on the edge of the platform on either side of her. "You don't look well. Are you okay?"

Hinata cringed slightly and pulled her legs up from the water and folded them under her. "Yeah," she said, a forced smile on her face. "I'm fine."

Even Naruto noticed her strange reaction. "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong last night?"

"N-no," she replied quickly. By then, her cabinmates were more than aware of their conversation.

"You look like you're avoiding me. You were also acting weird last night." He drifted closer to the platform.

She adjusted her legs and inched away. "It's nothing."

Naruto stared at her, and she stared at the water a few feet away.

"Can we talk?" he asked after an awkward silence.

"We _are_ talking."

Naruto shot the evidently interested Ino and Sakura a quick glance before looking at her again. She understood _that_. He wanted to talk. Privately.

She didn't like seeing him look so serious though. It just didn't go well with him, in her opinion.

"Fine," she finally said, looking more flushed. She started inching towards the platform edge.

He held out a hand for her, but she shook her head and slipped into the water beside him. Her cabinmates were craning their necks towards them too much in their curiosity, sensing something going on. Naruto only needed to give them a stern look, and they looked away, half from embarrassment and half from fear – he looked scary!

Hinata started drifting towards the port, but she suddenly felt his hand around her wrist, and he started leading her towards the buoys.

Oh, this was definitely going to be big. She braced herself for rejection as they neared the safety line.

Naruto threw his other arm over the line, looking away. His grip was starting to hurt her wrist, and she started wriggling her hand underwater. He didn't let go though.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked.

"No," he said turning to face her. When he saw her face, he let go of her wrist. "Sorry."

"It's okay." She was looking at the water again.

"About last night–"

"_I like you_," she suddenly blurted out, cutting him off. She may as well say it now. "I really, really, really, _really_ like you. _Daisuki_."

She was blushing hard, having finally said it. She couldn't say it when she gave him chocolates last Valentines, and she couldn't even write it on a note or even on the chocolates – they weren't even heart-shaped! She couldn't look at him directly, even now. She was only going to steal a glance, just a glance, when she saw that he was still staring at her and must have been blushing as much as she was.

And they just ended up staring at each other, both embarrassed and red-faced.

It was Naruto who ended up looking away first, scratching the back of his head. "Mou, you don't really have to _say_ it."

Hinata blushed harder – if that was even possible. He looked really cute saying that. "W-wait… You… _know_?"

"Yeah… the guys sort of cornered me and convinced me after the chocolates. I gave them a hard time. I guess I'm really dense…" He chuckled softly, still looking away.

"Who?"

"Who what? Oh, the ones who cornered me… Sasuke and Sai… And Kiba and a bunch of other guys. Just before White Day. It was really embarrassing. Please don't ask."

This was a plus, right? He knows! That was a miracle in itself! A forced miracle, but still…

"And…?" _What do you think?_

"And what?"

"You know…"

Naruto stared. "Oh." He looked away again. "Do… do I have to _say_ it too?"

Hinata's heart skipped a beat. It felt weird, this feeling. She felt excited, embarrassed, giddy and who knows what else at that moment. She wanted to hear him say it, but at the same time, she wanted to hide underwater as well. He really was going to say it!

He stole a couple of glances at her before looking away again. "Could you…" He suddenly put his two hands in front of her face. "Can you not look at me so expectantly?"

Naruto was really embarrassed. It was too cute to bear Hinata couldn't help giggling.

"Just say it already," she laughed, taking his hands in her own and lowering them.

"I… I-I…" He was stuttering. _Stuttering_. "I – like your hair!" he blurted out.

Hinata laughed.

"It's okay… You don't have to say it."

He pulled his hands away from hers and turned around. "Come on! I'm the guy here!" he complained, slapping both cheeks.

He faced her again and took her hands. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed them after a while. He opened his mouth again, but nothing came out. He lowered his head in defeat. "I can't say it."

"For someone who speaks his mind, you're pretty embarrassed about this," laughed Hinata. When it came to that, you really can't rely on some boys to say that. "I think how you feel now – I _know_ I do – so you don't have to say –"

Hinata couldn't tell what was going on at first. Naruto moved too fast. His face was suddenly near hers, and she felt his lips on hers. She was so unfamiliar with it, she didn't even realize it was a kiss until she kissed back, and it was over.

"That was…?" She was so surprised it hadn't quite sunk in yet. Or maybe it happened too fast. The feeling still lingered on her lips. Did that really happen?

"Sorry," apologized Naruto. "I couldn't say it, so…"

"It's okay… Did you… we… just…?" Her eyes were starting to smart, and before she knew it, fat tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Waa! I made you cry!" exclaimed a panicked Naruto. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that."

"No, it's okay, really," she said, wiping at her face with the back of her arms. "I'm a crybaby you know, so… I'm just so relieved you feel the same way about me, I… I was so worried you didn't… and…"

"What? You were worried about that?!" Almost to himself, he added, "Damn, I should've said it earlier!"

"No, really, I'm okay."

"Sorry!"

"No, I'm fine. Really…"

"So horrible… making Hinata-chan cry…"

The two both started at hearing the newcomer's voice. They turned and saw the familiar aqua-colored head on the other side of the buoys, an impish glint in those violet eyes.

"Suigetsu!" gasped Naruto. "How long have you been there?!"

"Sorry, missed my mark," he laughed in response. "I was underwater, you see, so I didn't know where I'd come up. I didn't even know I passed the safety line again. Anyway, when I got out, I saw you making Hinata-chan cry. Did anything happen? You weren't doing something horrible to her, were you?"

"Of course not!" Naruto replied. "At least I think I didn't."

"I'm fine," insisted Hinata, who was still wiping her face.

The blond sighed. "What if we try this?" He dipped his hands into the water and wiped her face with them. The tear marks were washed away, and evidence that she'd been crying was no longer visible.

"Thanks," she said, pulling him into a hug.

"Ah, I didn't know you were doing naughty stuff here," said Suigetsu, chuckling.

"Shut up," said Naruto, putting his arms around Hinata. "Don't tell anyone of what you've seen here."

"Aye, aye!" Suigetsu saluted at them and disappeared underwater.

"Let's go back then," said Naruto, taking Hinata by the hand and leading her back to the platform.

Hinata felt like she was floating – no, not in water anymore, but in the air, high above the clouds. She could imagine how she looked right now – the permanent bright pink her face must have been at that point. How could she explain that later on? Hinata-chan, why's your face like that? Did something happen? Oh, wait, oh my god! Something happened! Tell us!

She felt her face was warming up again. That probably meant she was blushing harder, whether it was visible or not anymore.

"About your bathing suit, Hinata-chan…" said Naruto as they neared the platform.

"Yeah?" She finally remembered what she was wearing. He noticed? So… did he like it?

"I don't like it."

"Eh?"

He turned and faced her. "Don't wear it again. It shows too much skin. I don't want to worry about dirty old men ogling you if you wear stuff like that."

Hinata nodded her head happily. He _definitely_ wasn't that type of guy.

Ino and Sakura watched them approach. They exchanged a look. This will make things easier for them.

**Cabin G6 0730**

"What's up with them?" asked Karin, as she watched Tenten leave the cabin by herself.

Tayuya shrugged in reply. Even she didn't know what was going on, and it wasn't like she cared to begin with. Temari had left earlier when one of her brothers passed by to pick her up. It had been quite a bit since their pink-haired cabinmate last saw her and the brunette together. Sure, they were still wall-climbing buddies, but Tenten looked as if she'd sooner kick Temari in the face rather than talk to her.

"Kin?" inquired Karin, bent on solving this mystery. Perhaps she could use this to her advantage somehow.

"Hn-hn," Kin replied with the default response when _someone_ obviously wasn't listening. She tightened her shoe laces and moved on to the next boot.

Seeing as their companion wasn't interested, Karin switched to a different topic. "I can't believe you answered that survey."

"Uh? Yeah, whatever," Kin replied in a tone that should have sounded as if she were irked that the redhead even asked.

Their pink-haired friend snorted. "Yeah, whatever," she echoed. She scratched her chin. "It's not about losing to that guy Kiba, is it?"

"Yeah, right," she replied sarcastically. That sounded more like Kin, but she sort of stuttered and snorted a little too much as she said it.

She was getting to her feet when a group of boys were passing by. But before she could even stand up straight, she suddenly lurched back, losing her footing and falling into Tayuya. Before the pink-haired girl could utter out a curse, Kin had maneuvered her way around and behind her companions in embarrassment.

"What the hell!" muttered Tayuya, surprised at her companion's strange reaction.

Karin turned to what she assumed to be the cause of that strange behavior and saw Kiba among the group of guys passing them, pulling an arm behind his head to conceal his face with his elbow, as if he'd been caught looking or something.

"Are they gone yet?" asked Kin as the group disappeared from sight.

Tayuya glared at their raven-haired companion as she peeked around them, looking for the group of boys.

"Could you explain what's going on?" demanded the pink-haired girl.

"It's nothing," Kin said with a huff, getting to her feet. "I, uh… fell…" She was lowering her voice a tad too much, as if trying too hard to sound natural.

"I see," said Karin, staring after the group of boys. Her glasses gleamed mischievously as the beginnings of a smirk started crawling into her face.

**Cabin B4 0730**

"Kankurou."

"Temari."

The two merely looked at each other, as if waiting for the other to make the first move.

It was not that Kankurou was forgetful, or that he was an absolute idiot. Of course he knew he eventually needed to confront his sister at one point or another. He was just taking his time and waiting for her to calm down, is all. Through experience, he knew for a fact that that strategy worked better… most of the time anyway.

Naturally, upon seeing his sister after such a big argument over nothing brought two options to mind: one was to simply apologize and hope he got away with minimal bruises; the second one was to get down on his knees and beg for his limbs. Whether it was from some subconscious guilt trip or some form of surrender to female superiority, he couldn't tell, but he was seriously considering the second option, and he was sure it would be worth doing it for the sake of normalcy and saving his relationship with his sister. And it would be a lot of trouble having to explain such a trivial matter to their parents later on.

He was about to do what could have been the most embarrassing thing he would ever have done in his entire life when she suddenly approached him and threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I missed you, Otouto-kun!" she exclaimed.

Sirens went off in Kankurou's head. First of all, she had never ever called her "little bro" before, especially since he believed she was incapable of calling someone she considered to be so uncute by such an endearing title. Lastly, she said those words with such a honeyed tone so unlike her.

"Who are you and how the heck did you manage to get rid of my sister?" he demanded, pulling away from the embrace. The older sister he imagined in his head was invincible, even against forces as vile as aliens.

"It's me, you idiot," she replied, an annoyed expression on her face. She obviously didn't like the way he phrased that statement. She clearly supposed the statement should have been _Who are you and what the heck did you do to my sister?_

Still in doubt, he glimpsed at their younger brother for confirmation, seeing as he was the one who brought their sister along in the first place. The redhead merely gave him an exasperated look as if to say, "Who else could she possibly be?" It was either that, or he meant to convey something more in the lines of "Are you retarded?"

"Well?" asked their Neesan, who looked at him expectantly. "Believe me yet?"

"Yeah, yeah, I miss you too, you bossy, overachieving slave driver."

"Believe it or not, that didn't offend me, you selfish, pig-headed slob."

"Egotist."

"Baby."

"Drama queen."

"Don't push it." She smiled and held out her arms for another hug.

"Can't we just shake on it?" asked Kankurou, shying away from such an unfamiliar display of affection.

"Well, that settles it," interrupted Gaara, almost talking to himself. He stifled a yawn. "I have to go…" He stopped, noticing the suspicious looks his siblings gave him. He seemed to have realized their intention, seeing as he fled the scene in a brisk walk.

"Oi, Gaara-kun, get back here!" cooed Temari as she followed after him.

"Don't you want a family hug?" added Kankurou, following suit.

**Cabin Path 0745**

"What was that about anyway?" complained Tayuya as she marched after her companions.

"For the hundredth time, it was nothing," said Kin, exasperated. "I just fell! What's it to you anyway?"

The pink-haired sourpuss scowled at the back of Kin's head. She didn't like strange, suspicious behavior, especially when it came to the raven-haired girl, who was usually frank and very vocal of her thoughts. She turned to look at Karin and saw the cool, contemplative look on her face. This face meant only one thing – she was up to something, and it didn't seem to have anything to do with either Sasuke or Sakura.

**Cabin G5 0800**

"What's up, Hinata-chan?" chorused Ino and Sakura, peeking from the edge of her bed.

"Nothing much," replied the dark-haired girl, worrying a bit that her friends were both dangerously perched on the ladder, seeing as her bunk was in fact the one on top. She continued brushing her hair in front of the cabinet mirror. "Why?"

"Is that so?" Ino mused thoughtfully, ignoring her inquiry.

"Then nothing happened… back at the lake?" asked Sakura.

"Nothing special." Hinata smiled at them before returning to her brushing.

The best friends exchanged a look. Hinata's face… was _not_ pink. Or red. Or scarlet. Or any shade of the like.

Ino crawled up the crowded ladder and unto Hinata's bunk. Sakura followed suit, and the two proceeded in cornering Hinata.

"What's going on?" Ino hissed in a malevolent tone.

"Tell us," Sakura said in the same manner.

"Eh? What's wrong with you two?" asked Hinata. "You're acting strange."

The best friends dropped the scary witches act. Hinata wasn't one to react to evil auras like that.

"What's wrong with _us_?" exclaimed Sakura. "What's wrong with _you_?"

"You're _different_," added Ino. "You're not blushing anymore. And you usually blush whenever people are paying attention to you."

"I don't even care if something happened at the lake," said the pink-haired girl. "I'm more worried about the fact that you've _changed_. Oh my god, wait, is this some sort of defense mechanism? Did Naruto _reject_ you back there?"

"You want us to beat him up for you?" Ino exclaimed, suddenly mad.

Hinata laughed. It wasn't the usual shy laugh. A laugh. Hinata's laugh.

The two were even more worried. Screw their secret agenda! Something's wrong with her, and they better take care of it!

"You guys are silly," said the ebony-haired girl. "I'm fine. It's just that I want to change a little. I mean, I've just done the one thing I considered to be the most embarrassing thing I could ever do. So I thought, 'there's no need to be so shy anymore'."

Sakura and Ino stared at each other in shock before returning their gaze at Hinata.

"The _most embarrassing_ thing you could ever do?" gasped the blonde at the same time her best friend said, "You're not _shy_ anymore?"

"You're worrying about the wrong thing!" Ino shouted at Sakura.

"No, you are!" responded Sakura. "Whatever happened back there, Hinata's changed for the better!" Her face was glowing, as if she'd warped off to some alternative fantasy world. She was definitely very glad for her friend.

"Cut the drama," snapped Ino. She continued interrogating their cabinmate. "Seeing as you're not shy anymore, then can you tell us exactly what happened back there?"

"It's a secret," teased Hinata.

"You can't keep that a secret!" roared Ino, deprived of her daily dose of gossip. "Tell me!" It took Sakura all her strength to restrain her.

Hinata was undeterred though. She merely smiled and continued brushing her hair. "It's a secret, Ino-chan. I can't just tell you what happened between me and Naruto."

"What happened to the _kun_?" the blonde roared once more. "So you're all lovey-dovey now? Tell me!"

"All I can say is it's _love_."

"Details!!!"

That morning, Ino and Sakura forgot their initial plan to use Hinata's relationship with Naruto to get to Sasuke. They ended up begging Hinata for information, and she didn't budge one bit.

**Archery Range 0800**

"What are you doing?!" snapped Kin when she saw Karin and Tayuya hiding behind the corner of the Archery range's shed. She knew that Cabin B4 was just around the bend. What could Karin possibly want to spy on them for?

"Shh," scolded the redhead. "Listen."

"Cut it out!" Even from behind the corner, the girls could easily identify Kiba's loud voice. "It's really starting to tick me off."

"I bet it is." This one sounded like Kankurou.

"Ooh, someone's getting defensive," teased Rei, his falsetto always recognizable.

"I am _not_!"

"Yes, you are!" insisted Kankurou.

"Someone has a crush on Kin!" sang Rei.

"Shut up!" They didn't need to see to know that he was very red in the face at the moment.

"Someone _definitely_ has a crush on Kin," repeated Kankurou.

"Just because I played against her in basketball–"

"Kiba has a crush on Kin!" shouted Rei.

"Of course not!"

"If you don't like her, then this shouldn't even bother you," said Kankurou.

"I ALREADY SAID I DO NOT!"

"Yeah, and if you morons haven't noticed, they'll probably be here in a while." This voice was probably Kage's, the fourth member of the cabin. "They are our _classmates_ after all."

Kankurou laughed loudly, and a sudden stop in his raucous laughter indicated that Kiba had probably gotten up to start chasing him around. A few moments later, the girls could hear quick footsteps darting about as Kiba started chasing at least two of the members of B4 around.

"Heard that?" asked Karin, an excited smirk on her face. She was even more satisfied when she saw the beet red color Kin's face was turning. Tayuya just stared at them, a disapproving look on her face.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note:** **SPOILER HINT **I have already worked on some parts of this chapter (and the other author notes as well) prior to last week's Naruto manga chapter, so when I did read that update, I felt as if I couldn't go on with DBG. It hurt that much. Sob. If you know what I'm talking about, there is a particular scene I couldn't _bear_ to write about after reading that. It hurt. Sniff. But I love you-know-who too much to stop. And no, it has not been confirmed yet. There's still the next update. I have hope. I shall keep on fighting! Sob. At least writing that scene calmed me down somewhat. If you know what I'm talking about, and you're hurting as well, you can cry on my shoulder! I'll be crying all the while as well, but at least you can have someone to cry with. Sniff. **SPOILER HINT END**

**EDIT: **Oh, I'm so glad you-know-who didn't die.

**Side notes:**

(1) Sai's awake!

(2) Ah, a confession within the first few minutes? Haha. Forgive me. Was it weird in the middle of a lake? Haha, it's hilarious, right? Laugh with me, people! Kukukuku… Well, beats doing it in Husbandry class with all those animals. Cluck cluck. And yes, I know, I don't like doing kissing scenes. So horrible at it… (One of my fave mangaka, _Yuki Kaori-sensei_, says drawing kissing scenes embarrass her lol…) Oh, and more than one would have been overdoing it IMO.

(3) This is the "new" Hinata. Enjoy. Fufufu.

(4) _-kun_ – When you drops the suffix usually attached to someone's name, then that denotes intimacy, as with lovers and childhood friends, just to name a few examples. I only found out about that recently, so I need to change that in the previous chapters. But maybe that won't be too important unless we're talking about Hinata and Naruto, coz everyone in the manga addresses each other without suffixes most of the time, unless they're referring to adults or friends they're not super close with. You actually don't see usual Japanese classmates calling each other by their first names, but in Naruto, unless they're Neji and the like, they call everyone by their first names (I think Neji ha_d_ a tendency to do that when he used to be more arrogant).

**Random comment:** They built a playground behind the college of science!!! And college students are playing in them, especially the swings and seesaw!!! I swear to God!

**Next time: **_Tenten nodded her head a bit wearily. If she needed anything right now, perhaps it was some cheering up. And Lee would be the perfect medicine._

"_You seem upset. Does it have anything to do with Neji?"_

_But then again, he might make things worse._


	25. Entry 22: Secrets

**The Difference Between Boys And Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**A/N:** This chapter was almost done a couple of weeks after the previous update. But then my finals started popping out. I just needed one more scene before I could post it, but I never got around to writing it before now. Btw, get a comfortable chair… This is a long one…

**CHAPTER 22 - Secrets**

**DAY 6**

**Path 0755**

"We haven't talked in a while!" exclaimed the usually exuberant Lee as he jogged in pace with her.

Tenten nodded her head wearily. If she needed anything right now, perhaps it was some cheering up. And Lee would be the perfect medicine.

They were on the way to their next class, which was archery with BG4.

"You seem upset. Does it have anything to do with Neji?"

But then again, he might make things worse.

"What makes you say that?" She was defensive, aggravated. "I just got a little upset with Temari. It has nothing to do with that jerk."

"Just a little? I noticed you haven't been speaking to her either."

Tenten sighed. "I'm a little mad at myself as well right now, getting mad over such little things. This is so _confusing_."

"Well, then, waste no time! Lee is here to talk about your worries!"

"Thanks for the offer, Lee, but I think you'll just confuse me further" was her reply. Though, as she had first guessed, Lee's exuberant nature was rubbing off some on her. "By the way, you've been less of a presence since the debate. Did something happen?"

Lee sniffed in an exaggerated manner, as if sobbing over the fact that she _cared_ enough to notice. "You _noticed_?"

"Uh, Lee, don't overdo it, please."

"I was feeling a bit bad over the debate. I was thinking, _why couldn't everyone just get along_? I was so busy musing over this I was barely myself these past few days."

"Ah, _so_ Lee."

"But then," he continued, ignoring her comment, "I noticed how upset Ino-chan was as well. So I tried cheering her up. But she left and didn't return even after class was finished."

"Was that so?"

"But then, prior to that, I noticed that she'd been avoiding Sakura for a while. So I was thinking, maybe she was still upset over Sai. But seeing as she and Sakura are friends again, no, more like _accomplices in crime_ even, I can't help but think that maybe they just had a little squabble like you and Temari-san."

Tenten finally stopped walking, as her friend followed suit. "What were you doing all this time? Spying on everyone?"

"But on second thought," continued Lee, "why would Ino and Sakura, who have been best friends for a long time – finally settling a truce after their childish squabble over Sasuke-kun – quarrel over something – or _anything_ for that matter? Just as you and Temari-san quarreled over nothing?"

"Lee, you're over-thinking this."

"…And I remembered how I had compared her dreary attitude to Sai-kun, and I saw this look on her face that said I'd hit a sore spot."

"Then why'd you say that in the first place?"

"…But at the same time, that look said something else – a yearning of some sort. Like she _misses_ him."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"…Which brought me to the conclusion that the two girls fought over something that may be directly or indirectly related to Sai-kun."

"And that leads you to think I fought with Temari because of Neji?"

"And that leads me to think you fought with Temari because of Neji."

"Have you been listening to a single word I've been saying till now?" roared Tenten in his ear.

"Huh? Were you saying something?"

"I did not fight with Temari because of Neji!"

"So you don't miss him?"

"Why would I miss that jerk?"

"Because he treats you as an equal?"

"That jerk?! Equals? He looks down on everyone!"

"He bullies you because he knows you fight back. If he thought of you as just another girl, he wouldn't even bother. He doesn't even talk to most girls if he can help it, but he talks to you as casually as he talks to me, right?"

Tenten stared at him, dumbfounded.

"He's close with Hinata since they're cousins, but he barely hangs out with her. He likes playing sports with _you_ coz you aren't afraid of getting dirty or banged up like most girls, and as far as I know, you're the only female who can keep up with him, even with his tantrums."

She continued staring at him.

"So far, who else acts like that around you? Most guys don't take you seriously enough coz you're a girl. Additionally, you're quite intimidating yourself, and some guys are a bit scared of you."

The last part of what he's said woke her up from her sort of shock, and she exclaimed, "Wait, what? Guys are _afraid_ of me?"

"A bit," he replied with a shrug. "They can't keep up with you, and they don't want to get their butt kicked by a girl, so they tend to avoid you. That's why Neji and I are your closest guy friends, right? Am I right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right… Wait, no! You're only right about the last part. I haven't agreed with the first part about Neji yet!"

"Problem solved then?" said Lee with a nod of his head. "Yosh!" he exclaimed, "If I don't get to class before Asuma-sensei, I'll –" The rest of what he said was lost in the wind as he suddenly set off at lightning speed towards the archery range.

"Wait, Lee!" Tenten shouted after him. "What do you mean _problem solved_? You can't decide that by yourself!"

**Archery Range 0800**

"Heard that?" asked Karin, smirking satisfyingly at Kin's beet red expression.

"It's nothing," replied the ebony-haired girl, answering a little too late. "They're just joking around." Despite her attempts to sound cool, her face remained the same shade of bright red, and her breaths continued in a quick, ragged manner.

"We need to get to class," said Tayuya.

Their raven-haired friend merely nodded her head, but she remained motionless against the wall, her eyes fixed on her military boots.

"See you later then," Karin said in an unnaturally casual and cheerful way as she left them. One need not see her face to know of the devious smirk growing there.

Tayuya continued looking at Kin. They stayed in that manner for a while, even when an unnoticed Neji, a noisy G4 and Lee and Tenten passed them by.

After a few more moments, Kin sighed, shuffled her feet and finally rounded the corner, an observant Tayuya following after her. They arrived at the archery range to find Kankurou in Kiba's headlock. Apparently, the teasing still hadn't stopped, and Kiba was preventing the guys from telling the G4 girls what exactly it was they were teasing him for.

Tayuya noticed the far-away look in her companion's eyes, as if she were pretending to be elsewhere, just before a hurried Asuma-sensei arrived, telling everyone to gear up.

It was only then that the two G6 girls were noticed, and Kiba let go of Kankurou's neck. Rei was about to blurt out something when Kage managed to cover his mouth just in time.

The G4 girls were curiously prying on what the teasing was all about while they geared up, but in the very least, the boys kept this to themselves – and made sure their hyperactive redhead friend did the same. Temari was late and didn't bother with what the gossip was about and simply went to work. Shikamaru and Chouji were yelled at by Asuma-sensei by virtue that, other than the fact that they were late – which he would have forgiven them for, knowing how he couldn't expect any better from them –, they were still eating what seemed to be their breakfast.

Tayuya was adjusting the sight on her bow when she noticed Kiba staring at Kin, who was working mechanically, like a sad, little doll. When he saw the pink-haired girl staring at him, he looked away, a sort of confused and embarrassed look on his face for having been caught looking.

The pink-haired girl directed the bow at the target and looked through the sight. It was aligned now.

**Cabin Path 1000**

"I don't have to tell you anything," Naruto said coolly, blocking out his best friend's complaints.

"Believe me, you will," said Sasuke, stalking out the cabin door behind him. Despite the steely tone, even _he_ was doubtful of his own words.

The blond boy started humming. He was not one to hide secrets, nor was he usually one to make a show out of doing so, but aggravating his best friend like this was too much fun to pass up. The usually cool-headed Sasuke could take the blond's declining from joining his side of the feud in stride, but when it came to personal matters Naruto _should have_ usually shared with his _best friend_, the usual cool demeanor easily evaporated. It was now his turn to act childish.

_Why_ wouldn't Naruto tell him what happened? He _always_ tells him if anything happened.

Sasuke wouldn't _exactly_ call it betrayal. He had his own motives, he could admit that (motives that were unknowingly not unlike those of Sakura's and Ino's), but something of this grave importance should be shared between best friends, right? _Right?_

As the raven-haired teen's childish side continued quarrelling with itself in his head, a similar internal incapacitation was happening elsewhere.

Ino and Sakura glared at the back of Hinata's head as they headed down the path, as if doing so would be of any help in their quest for the apparent truth.

_Why? Why wouldn't she tell us?_ were their collective thought. _We're her friends, right? It's a girl thing! A _girl thing_, for crying out loud! Isn't that somewhere in the girl code? She _has_ to tell us!_

As they were about to turn down the road headed for the animal sheds, their internal debates were rudely interrupted by the sight of the B5 boys.

Ino and Sakura stopped in their tracks just as Sasuke did, and Karin, Sai and Suigetsu almost bumping into their respective cabinmates. Without as much as a care, Naruto and Hinata met at the middle and headed down the path together, chatting nonchalantly, leaving their corresponding cabins to glare each other down at the crossroad.

Noticeably, Sai wasn't responding to the death glares (and neither was Suigetsu, the mirth evident on his face, which in place made Karin glare at him harder). With his unusually cheerful expression still intact, the ebony-haired boy casually smiled at G5 before heading for their class, leaving the girls gaping after him.

Suigetsu started laughing, while Sasuke rolled his eyes before extending an arm towards the road, as if to say, "Ladies first."

Sakura and Ino, though not yet recovered from their shock at Sai's sudden change of attitude, harrumphed at that and marched down the road together like a couple of stuck-up peacocks.

Karin found this a great opportunity finally to be alone with Sasuke, even for just a few minutes, and started signaling for Suigetsu to leave them alone.

The subject of her affection had different intentions though, and quickly went ahead to escape her, which made the last member of his cabin guffaw even louder.

"You're having a riot, aren't you?" the irked redhead asked, her arms crossed. Surely, if one thing was going to turn out right today, it should be that she could _at least_ scratch his eyes out.

"Yeah, a complete riot!" Suigetsu responded between laughs.

"That was a rhetorical question, you hopeless idiot!" she roared at him.

"Oh, god, I missed you, Karin!"

"Wha-?!"

"How long was it since we last talked?"

"What the hell are you talking about, you psycho?!"

"Ah, hits the spot. I can't get enough of your shouting, y'know?"

"Shut the eff up, you maggot!"

"The verbal assault too. You know, Sasuke would love to hear you cuss. Very becoming of you."

"Shut up already! Before I maul you to death, you cretin!"

"You'd _love_ that, wouldn't you?"

Karin's face grew red. "Pervert!" she shouted before marching off.

"Sasuke, run for it!" Suigetsu shouted after her. "Karin's gaining on you!"

He snickered when she replied with a string of profanities.

**Husbandry Class 1030**

"How's my darling babies?" Naruto pursed his lips together and started making baby sounds.

"Naruto," said Sasuke, a tone of disbelief in his voice, "are you talking to the _chicks_?"

The chicks inside the coop chirped louder, as if hurt by his harsh tone. "Hush, babies," cooed the blond boy before hitting his friend on the leg. "Don't talk like that! You're hurting their feelings!"

Sasuke squatted down beside him and started glaring – though it didn't have the usually intimidating effect he wanted. "_I'm_ your _best friend_, and you don't tell me what's going on, and you're _worried_ that these animals' _feelings_ are hurt?!" By the time he finished saying that, his voice had considerably risen in volume. The chicks got louder.

Naruto frowned. "You know, you get really cute when you're mad like that."

Sasuke hit him over the head with the chicken feeder he was holding before getting up and marching off.

At that point, he should have been shouting something along the lines of, "I hate you! I'm not talking to you anymore!" Fortunately, he had not regressed enough to the point of sprouting such obviously inane words. Instead, he kept his mouth shut, though he couldn't manage to recompose his face to the desired level.

"Why's Sasuke acting like a baby?" inquired Gaara as he approached, a duck in his hands.

"Sasuke needs to stop acting like that, right? Or else he'll never grow up," Naruto said with the same pursed lips and baby-talk tone.

"Naruto," Gaara couldn't help saying, "are you talking to the _chicks_?"

…

"How's my favorite little Sasuke fan girl?"

Karin shrieked, dropping the running hose. "Damn it, Suigetsu! Stay away from me, you freak!"

He picked up the hose and continued watering the coop she was supposed to be cleaning. "Aw, don't be like that. We haven't had a decent talk recently." He smiled that rascal's smile, the canine sticking out.

"Stay away from me!"

"Sasuke, look out!" shouted Suigetsu.

Karin was about to verbally barrage him once more when someone suddenly bumped into her back. She managed to regain her balance though and was about to redirect her anger to the said person but was unable to do so when she realized who it was.

It really was Sasuke, and he had this adorably irritated look on this face that that sent her speechless.

He glared at her before shoving past, but she barely felt the dark aura emanating from him.

She was brought back to planet earth with a light drizzle of hose water.

"Damn it, Suigetsu!" she exclaimed, inserting a cuss or two between each word.

"So awestruck you didn't even notice his bad mood? I betcha he really hates you now. Sucks to be you, eh?"

"What the hell are you talking about?! Bad mood?"

"Yeah, apparently Naruto won't tell him about the lake thing. You know 'bout it, right?"

"What? What lake thing?" For the life of her, she didn't know what the heck he was talking about. Earlier that morning during swimming class, she had been so preoccupied with ogling Sasuke as he was doing laps to notice anything besides that.

"You know, the _thing_."

"God damn it, Suigetsu, just tell me what it is!"

He sprayed her with more water.

"Shit! Stop that, bastard!"

He just snickered. "Damn, I wish more girls were more like you. Would make this world more colorful, y'know. You always put me in a great mood."

"Pervert!"

She was about to turn and leave when he said, "Well, do you want to know what happened?"

"Who cares?!"

"If you tell him what happened, he might do anything you want."

"_What happened?_" she blurted out, suddenly _very_ interested, as if she were some sort of crazy, depraved rumormonger.

"I dunno."

Karin was about to strike him when he pointed to the hose with his free hand. Her arm stopped in midair, and she retracted it.

"Even Hinata won't tell Ino and Sakura. If Naruto wouldn't tell Sasuke, what would I know?"

"Well, what's the point of saying those things?"

"Coz I was there."

"Then why'd you say you didn't know?!"

"Coz I didn't see anything."

"_Ahou_!"

"But given the right motivation, I _might_ have seen something."

Karin's face turned a bright shade of red. "Pervert!" she shouted as she ran off.

Suigetsu just chuckled as he watched her go.

"So… Why was Karin calling you a pervert?" asked Gaara, passing by with the same duck in his hands.

…

"Hinata-chan! Are you listening to me?!"

Hinata ignored Ino as she continued to stroke the mother goat's inflamed belly. "Ino-chan, we're in class right now. You're making Macchan nervous." The animal bleated in support.

They were inside the shed, in the special pen for the obviously pregnant Macchan. Even in here, Hinata's cabinmates couldn't help pestering her with their intense curiosity.

"Please, please, Hinata-chan," begged Sakura, sitting down and already bent really low. "If we start begging, will you please, _please_ tell us?" she begged in a desperate tone.

"We're desperate!" groaned their blond friend, shaking the ebony-haired girl's shoulders.

"Yamato-sensei," Hinata said, calling for their teacher who was somewhere inside the shed, "could you please send Ino and Sakura elsewhere? They're disturbing Macchan and the other animals."

"No can do," he replied, appearing from behind a haystack. "Macchan is due to give birth any time now. I need all three of you, at least."

"And you tell us that now?" shrieked Ino, rushing to her feet. "I'm no midwife!"

"Relax, Ino-chan," responded their sensei. "I'll guide you through it."

"Wait, Yamato-sensei," said Sakura. "You're a biology teacher, but are you sure you know what to do?"

"Yeah, of course! I've seen it dozens of times on nature documentaries – whales, dolphins, horses, elephants –" As he said this, he started inching behind the hay stack once more.

"Sensei!" groaned the girls.

**Cooperative Building 1200**

"Are you still sulking?" asked Naruto, leaning over the bar in an attempt to see his best friend's face.

Sasuke looked away, his glare directed to the line ahead of them. They were in the canteen, lining up for lunch. Apparently, the dark-haired teen was more than irritated with his so called best friend.

The blond boy started poking his friend's side. "Ne, don't be like that."

Sasuke swatted his hand away.

"Sheesh, and you'd think he didn't care about these things," grumbled Suigetsu, a bit disappointed that Sasuke was acting so childish. He didn't like it when people acted unpredictably.

"Why don't you just tell him already?" Sai suggested.

"Damn it, Sai, I can't get used to you saying more than two words at a time anymore," groaned the blond boy.

"Silly," laughed his friend. "Anyway, what do you get out of not telling Sasuke anyway?"

"Just to torment him." Naruto grinned mischievously. "Ow!" he cried out when the said teen whacked him on the head for that.

Sasuke continued ignoring him even after they'd grabbed their lunch.

"Naruto!" called out a familiar voice when they went outside to find seats.

"Hey, Sakura," he greeted as he approached their table. Hinata and Ino were with her as well.

"Join us," said Ino, a sly smile on her face. "There's plenty of room."

Hinata gave him an apologetic smile. She would have preferred it if she'd managed to grab a separate table just for the two of them, but her cabinmates had practically glued her to that seat.

Naruto, understanding her predicament, plopped his tray on the table and took the seat beside her. "Over here!" he called out to his cabinmates.

Ino's smile fell as the group approached, her attention focused on the unnaturally cheerful Sai. He seemed so relaxed it greatly unnerved her for some reason.

Sakura was more calm about it, already exchanging plan A with plan C.

Suigetsu took the seat across from Naruto, and Sai sat beside him and across from Hinata. Sasuke would have ignored them all and gotten another table – or sat with fan girls for all he cared – but Naruto grabbed him by the elbow and redirected him to their table.

He was going to try and escape them anyway, if his blond friend didn't say, "Sit down, or I won't tell you anything."

Apparently, this was the right thing to say at that point, because the raven-haired teen didn't need much prompting to sit beside Sai, even if he did end up sitting in front of Sakura.

The two exchanged glares and decided to drop it soon after when they realized it would be a waste of time. They resorted to other measures.

"Ne, Naruto, Hinata-chan, aren't you guys going to tell us what's up?" asked Sakura in a casual, friendly manner.

Sasuke shot her a quick glance before returning to his food. Wait, does she _know_? He hoped she was just grasping for straws like he was.

"Nah much," said Naruto, his mouth half-filled with rice cake.

"Nope," added Hinata, taking a sip from her drink. "Hm, Naruto, there's rice on your cheek."

As casually as if she did it everyday, she picked the rice from his face and ate it. Naruto continued eating, as if he hadn't noticed.

The table stared at them, half of them gaping with their mouths open. What they were saying and doing were totally contradicting!

Suigetsu then started chuckling while Sai chewed with an amused set of his lips.

Sakura and Sasuke glared at the couple, mad that they'd even put up a show and rub it in their faces that they still _didn't know_ what happened (and because it was interfering with their plans to spite each other – though, of course, neither knew how parallel their plans were).

Meanwhile, Ino returned to her food, not even bothering to pretend she was eating anymore. She merely picked at her bento with her chopsticks, a passive look on her face.

Lunch continued in that pattern, with Hinata and Naruto acting casually lovey-dovey, Sasuke and Sakura getting even more annoyed of them, and Suigetsu and Sai looking on in amusement (both at the lovebirds and the annoyed friends). Ino gave up halfway through the meal and excused herself, but no one really paid her any mind as she left.

**Picnic Table #014 1230**

"So is that a yes then?" asked Karin, getting impatient. Earlier, she had planned to be more subtle with her friend and make things drag on. It would have been sheer delight for her, watching Kin squirm and fidget under the accusations. Unfortunately, she was in no mood for that. She recrossed her legs under the wooden table. "You do like Kiba, don't you?" She was being blunt right now.

The dark-haired girl didn't reply, merely staring at the table's wooden surface.

"So I've been thinking all this time you were acting weird," continued Karin, "and I realized, even prior to this camp, each time you started acting like that, it had something to do with him."

"It does not," she denied.

Tayuya looked on, her mouth set in a straight line.

"You said you hated sports last year," continued Karin, "but all of a sudden, you started playing basketball. And you'd just act all grumpy every time I asked you why. So I thought, hey, maybe you needed a hobby or something."

Kin didn't respond.

"But then you started attending the varsity basketball games behind our backs – in your uniform!"

Kin opened her mouth, as if to deny it, but it hung open in the air as if her jaw had a stuck hinge. To find out she was seen in her uniform outside of school was a huge blow to her ego. "How did you know about that?" she finally asked in a defeated manner.

Karin's eyes gleamed, the smirk spreading on her face. Her aggravations the whole day had been piling up one on top of the other, and Kin was the unfortunate victim as a result. "Aha, don't underestimate my resources, my friend… You should have just watched the game in civilian clothes. Tsk, tsk. To think you were _cheering on_ our team even though you hated sports!"

It was customary to wear one's school uniforms as a show of support for one's school during interschool competitions.

The raven-haired girl was squirming in her seat, her head bowed.

"So it mustn't be the team right? Maybe it was a certain _person_?"

"It was –" What could she say? She had a crush on the forty-five-year-old coach?

"But _who_ could this person be? I mean, most of the team were sempai and all, and you barely knew any of them."

_But it could have been someone from the other team_, Kin was tempted to blurt out. But then, the chances of her having a crush on a member of every single team was even harder to prove since she didn't even know a single one of them.

"And I just realized – there was a pretty good _rookie_ on the team, and sometimes, he managed to make it to the starting five…"

She could deny it. There was no rookie on the team.

"Hm, who was this rookie again?" Her voice was rising, as if building up for a climax.

_It was a sempai! A sempai!_ But then, which sempai could it be? _Damn, who are the sempai on the team again?!_

"I know who that rookie is! And you –"

"It was –" Who knew who Kin could have used as a scapegoat then, if it weren't for a sudden interruption.

"That's enough, Karin."

"_Excuse_ me?" the redhead turned to glare at Tayuya, annoyed at her interference. "What did you just say?"

"I said, that's enough," repeated their pink-haired companion.

"_What_?"

"I don't know if you've gone deaf all of a sudden, but I said, _that's enough_, Karin! Shut up already! Your voice is so god-damned _annoying_, got that?"

Karin stared at her, dumbfounded. No one had ever used that tone on her, save for her father. This was a big blow to her. How can _Tayuya_ talk to _her_ like that?

The pink-haired girl rolled her eyes as she got up, saying, "I've had enough of this." She marched out of the dining area and down the cabin path.

Kin rushed to her feet as well before Karin could redirect her anger at _her_. She headed down the path after her cabinmate.

**Wall-Climbing Class 1400**

"Are you sure about this?" asked Ino, alternately eyeing the wall and her friend in anxiety.

She had switched back as Sakura's partner, seeing as they were friends again, while Shinju teamed up with Hinata.

"What happened to your enthusiasm?" asked Sakura, already strapping her harness on. "Shouldn't you be in 'Give 'im hell' mode right now?"

"I dunno…" Ino seemed to be grumbling. "It's nothing… I'm, uh, just a little down…"

"Is it because Sai…?"

"N-no, of course not!"

"Okay." Sakura dropped it, knowing that Ino would be too stubborn to talk to her about it. Sai's new, strange behavior had taken her by surprise too, and despite her urge to challenge this façade of his, her friend's reaction made her think otherwise. Ino didn't seem to be in the mood for this, and when it came to moods, the blonde was the absolute queen of it. Being in psyched-up-go-gettem mode was one thing. Her friend's incomprehensible mood swings were the one thing the pink-haired girl hadn't quite mastered yet.

…

At about thirty minutes into the class, the campers noticed a remarkable change in Sakura's wall-climbing. She was climbing _fast_, and that was dangerous for someone who was barely able to get into the harness the first day of class.

Of course, as expected, Sasuke would never pass off a challenge. He was confident she was all bluff. Unknowingly, she was actually relying on that overconfidence.

After a more than a few trips up and down that wall, Naruto was getting impatient for his turn. He ended up wrestling with Sasuke over the harness before the raven-haired teen allowed him a turn. Seeing as the blond boy wanted to make up for all the time Sasuke hogged the equipment, Sakura let Ino climb as well. While she belayed for her friend, she realized how much she had relied on adrenaline to keep her going. If it wasn't for that, she wouldn't have had the guts to climb that fast. She sure showed him she could keep up.

Though Karin was supposed to be thrilled at the competition going on, she was still more than pissed to have been told off by Tayuya, of all people. She wasn't in much of a mood to show off her climbing skills and instead scaled the wall at a snail's pace. Even Suigetsu could tell she has had enough today. Maybe tomorrow then.

…

Kayaking class came and went, and the dueling duo was at it once more. Their classmates were more than tired of it all, and took no notice of them, save a rare few who observed with quiet diligence. This time, Tobi succeeded in making Deidara faint from nausea while they were in the water. Iruka-sensei had to go fetch him with a kayak.

**Cabin G6 1830**

"I never got to thank you," Kin said, standing at the door, her feet hesitating at the threshold.

"For what?" asked Tayuya as she leaned against the bunk beds as she pulled her socks off. She'd been wearing boots all day. She didn't know why she kept wearing them even in this heat.

"For the… you know… sticking up for me part…"

"Ah, cut it out, Kin. You're going soft on me. Gross. Besides, I wasn't sticking out for you. I was just getting annoyed. If Karin could get away with bullying you, who knows when she'll start pestering me. Besides, it's none of her business if you like someone."

"H-hey! I _do not_ like him!"

"You've been pestering him since junior high."

"So? I pick on _all_ the guys."

"But you _particularly_ liked picking fights with him, if I remember right."

"N-no, I don't."

"Oh, and I saw his pics in your phone."

Kin gaped at her, her face turning white as her blood run cold. "You _what_?!"

"Aha, so you do have pictures of him! Guessed as much. I can't believe you even managed to keep this from me for so long."

The raven-haired girl blushed a deep red before disappearing into her bunk in embarrassment.

Tayuya sighed as her cabinmate drew her curtains close. She was getting too soft as well, acting out for her friend and all that.

**Old Port1830**

"You look busy."

"Why are you bugging me again?" complained Ino, not even bothering to roll her eyes at him anymore. She sat at the port, hugging her knees to her chest. It didn't make sense to her what she was doing there, but all she knew was that she needed to think, something she wasn't even capable of doing right now. She was barely herself all day, and Sakura was beyond noticing, especially in her constant war-freak state.

"No apparent reason." Suigetsu gave her that smile of his – which in fact resembled a smirk as much as it looked like a smile.

"Just spit it out already."

He shrugged. "Nothing. Just a passing comment, is all. You're unusually high-strung right now. Uh, wait, you were this way the last time we talked, right?"

She got up and started walking away as if to leave, when she remembered something and doubled back. "I know that you must know what's making me act like this, right?"

"Huh?"

"I know you do, so drop the clueless act!" she exclaimed in a quick, impatient manner.

"Okay, okay already," he said, holding his hands up, an apologetic smile on his face. "Sheesh, calm down. Are you upset because Sai seems to be so over you right now?"

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you going to tell me _why _he's that way? Isn't that the reason you're bugging me?"

"Ha? So he is the reason after all… Anyway, I already told you, it was just a passing comment. I didn't mean to start a conversation with you. Besides, I don't know what's up with Sai either. All of a sudden, he just started acting _normally_ this morning and – I can't even believe you didn't hit me for saying 'he's over you'."

"How could someone change overnight –" Ino's voice trailed all of a sudden as realization hit her. Suigetsu told her about her calling Sai's name – that is, if she did do it – _yesterday_. "You didn't _tell_ him about it, did you?"

"What? About you calling his n–"

"Don't say it!"

"No, I didn't tell him." _At least, _was his thought, _if he wasn't _awake_ that night. Hehe._ "Besides, how will that change things? Whatever it was you said that day?"

"I don't care if things remained the same." She felt a small pang of guilt upon saying that, as she remembered his zombie-like state. Would she have gone back to him if he'd stayed that way long enough?

At first, she'd thought he'd fume over the fight for a while before he'd come crawling back to her, and she would forgive him – under certain conditions were fulfilled of course (that was some time before she and Sakura started avoiding each other). But apparently, that had not been the case. He just went into some sort of daze, as if he saw nothing or heard nothing. As if he never saw _her_ or felt anything whenever he did. But now, for reasons she couldn't comprehend, he had somehow managed to recover from it, and she wasn't too happy about it either.

But why would she be so upset over that? Did she want to be the reason he'd recover? For him to realize that it was only _her_ he needed?

She shook her head. _No, I don't want him_, she tried to convince herself. _But… why do I want _him_ to want _me_?_

"Hello," Suigetsu said, waving a hand in front of her face. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I am," she said, pushing his hand away.

"Ah, there he is," said Suigetsu, spotting his cabinmates, with Hinata holding Naruto's hand, heading down the path as well. "You can go ask him yourself. I mean, just coz he's your ex, doesn't mean you can't talk. I don't think he'll mind. He seems friendly enough."

That was one thing Ino wasn't too sure of. What was it that brought them together in the first place? Well, he was gorgeous after all, and he was into her – unlike _someone_ who couldn't notice a stunning blond babe if he ever saw one – and… what else…? Did they start dating just because of that? Blond bombshell plus dark-haired hottie equals love?

No, she didn't even _know_ enough about him to know if he was over her. In fact, what else did she know about him other than the fact that he was handsome, that he liked art and that he liked her? Sure, they knew each other's birthdays, favorite food, favorite music, etcetera, but they never seemed to know what the other was thinking. She can't just come up to him and ask, "Hey, you seem fine now. Are you over me?" That would be beyond stupid. After the way they had broken up, how could they still be friends?

Ino was about to dart down the path in an attempt to avoid them when she heard Naruto say, "What's with your new attitude anyway?"

"Ah, this?" asked Sai. "I was just out of it for a while. I'm back to normal again."

"What exactly happened?" asked his blond friend. Sasuke was hovering behind them. If he was curious, he hid it well this time.

"Maa na."

Sai walked ahead nonchalantly, enjoying tormenting his friend.

"What's that supposed to mean?" groaned Naruto. Hinata patted his shoulder. Behind them, Sasuke snickered, now that the blond felt the same way he had the whole day.

Ino panicked. Sai was heading her way. She turned around in a hurry and ended up bumping into Suigetsu. She turned again, and ended up face to face with Sai.

He looked a bit surprised, but not as much as she felt at that moment. "Hello," he said with a smile, before sidestepping her and moving on his way.

"What the hell?!" Naruto was shouting as he chased after Sai, towing a surprised Hinata by the hand. Sasuke nonchalantly followed after them.

If anyone was shocked right now, it was Ino. She stared at the spot where Sai had been when he talked to her. Did that really happen?

"Hello." Suigetsu repeated his actions from before, waving the same hand in her face. "You okay?"

_God, I missed his smile_, was all she could think at that moment.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note:** Yes, I know, I'm going nuts. I was reading a really morbid fan fiction and watching the super funny _Nodame Cantabile_ live action series before I started writing most of this (so this unhealthy junk was the result). What the hell is wrong with me?! This is what happens when I'm hyper and want to update soon (remember my first note; this was almost done a month or more ago, and I could have updated sooner). I tend to produce brain-rotting fan fiction that is _way_ longer than past chapters lol.

**Side notes:**

(1) Lee explains everything I haven't explained so far. He is so intuitive! Lol. Lee needs more air time here, so here he is! Please forgive me for having neglected you, Lee!

(2) Sasuke's cute mode! I am so damn _high_ on oatmeal and melon-flavored milk when I wrote that.

(3) "Pervert!" – What's with Karin calling him that? He's saying all those things in a casual manner, though to her, they seem suggestive (and I believe he means them to _seem_ that way). I'm not necessarily implying anything at this point… I hope…

(4) Gaara and his ducky! Quack, quack! I'm so high right now…

(5) Okay, so you may think, _Ha, then Sai and Ino shouldn't get back together anymore_! Don't jump to conclusions yet, my friend. I'm a SaiIno addict, and I'll make sure they end up together no matter what. Even if I have to bend the heavens to my will! Mwahahaha! Just like with chapter 439 of the Naruto manga. All the while I was thinking, "If I prayed hard enough, would Masashi Kishimoto…?" Of course, I knew there wasn't a hundred percent chance it would work, but hey, my wish came through, so I may as well do as I wish here lol. (Also, I'd gotten too used to saying "Masashi Kishimoto" rather than "Kishimoto Masashi", so I hope to change that soon.)

(6) "Maa na." – roughly translated to… wait, what does it mean? If I'm correct it's more of a "We'll see", "Maybe" or "I don't know" remark, but I think I heard it a lot as an answer to a question that the person does not want to answer.

(7) Suigetsu and his secret agendas? Whoa, he's putting strange ideas in everyone's heads. I hope you noticed everything he does is calculating (except when he's being naturally playful when it comes to horsing around, swimming and eating). He makes my story flow. Woohoo. He's like the main character, and you don't know it. Giggle fest.

**Next time**_**:**__ "Wait, huff… Oi! I said wait, already!"_

"_Hurry it up, already!" groaned Kage. "You're holding up the line."_

"_Just… huff… one minute," replied Mikan._

"_Why'd you bring such a big bag in the first place? You should've known you can't carry that much around!"_

A/N: What exactly is up next? Something that has to with heavy bags and a line. School bus? Boot camp? Military camp? Summer camp's over?!


	26. Entry 23: Bottle

**The Difference between Boys and Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**Author's Note:** How long has it been anyway? Sorry, DBG. Sorry, readers! I was supposed to be studying for my Chem exam when I finished making this lol. Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 23 - Bottle**

**DAY 6 **

**Councilor's Meeting 2100**

"And that's decided then," said Tsunade, her arms crossed across her chest as she surveyed the desk occupied by the Konoha Institute faculty and staff.

"But, Tsunade-sama…" Shizune was at a loss for words to even continue with what she wanted to say.

The principal had called a sudden meeting before curfew to inform the councilors of an undertaking she had in mind. A heavy silence fell upon the room as the councilors absorbed the sudden announcement.

"Things have been settling down, it seems," continued the blond woman. "But _not_ completely. Something has to be done." She placed her arms on the table, resting her chin on her laced fingers. "Do we have anymore objections?"

"But doesn't that seem a little… harsh?" It was Kakashi-sensei who dared speak, tucking on a nervous laugh to the end of his statement.

"You've had your fun, Sensei," replied Tsunade. "I know how much you enjoyed the fun and games, but _someone_ has to do the responsible thing around here right about now."

The silver-haired sensei chuckled nervously at the accusation.

"And that _someone_ will be _you_."

**  
Day 7**

**The Field 0600**

"So early," groaned Naruto, stifling a yawn as he trudged towards the Field in his embarrassing Fang Shinobi pajamas. Sai, wearing long sleeves and baggy pants, and Suigetsu, dressed as if to go jogging, were dragging him onwards by the arms. Behind them, Sasuke was a figure in black from neck to toe, complacent that his sleeping attire did not resemble one.

Around them, the rest of the campers grudgingly treaded towards the same direction, displaying more than a few bed-heads and embarrassing pajamas and sleeping gowns – a rare few had the good sense to put bathrobes on.

It was only a few minutes ago that the camp councilors started giving them wake-up calls, telling them to get up and gather for an urgent announcement.

Kakashi, already on the stage, welcomed them as they arrived. Yawning and wiping their eyes, the only thing the campers could hear was, "Yada yada, blah blah blah." If anything came from the said sensei, it was something the beloved principal deemed not worthy enough to announce herself; thus, it was not worth listening to. That was the case, it seemed, until the silver-haired sensei said the words "a camping trip", "hike through the woods" and "today".

The students stared at him in incomprehension for a moment or two before letting out a loud chorus of "Whaaaaaaaaat?!"

"Well, that sure woke everyone up," their sensei replied with a smile. "Let me repeat what I just said. We're going on a _camping trip_! We'll _hike through the woods_ to the camp site somewhere in the middle of nowhere. _Today_. Get a move on and pack up. Classes are cancelled today, and we're all meeting back here by 10. We'll hike, stop for lunch by the river, then hike some more towards the clearing. Then we'll set up a camp, blah blah blah. You get the idea, right?"

Voices of dissension grew amongst the audience.

The silver-haired man held up both hands, as if to tell them that their attempts at changing his mind were futile. "Gai-sensei and I are in charge of camping and hiking activities, and we say we're going on one. If anyone has any complaints, kindly bring it up with the Principal. Thank you for your time." He smiled and quickly slipped out of view, the mere mention of Tsunade having already silenced the students. If Tsunade-sama says so, they've but no choice but to consent.

"Crap," grumbled Naruto. "There goes the rest of the day."

**The Field 1000**

The campers were once again caught by surprise when Gai-sensei held up a long list and announced that there was going to be a _buddy system_. There was an equal number of male and female campers, so _logically_, each boy should pair up with one girl, right? What were they? A bunch of grade school kids?!

When the campers got loud, Kakashi mentioned how _Tsunade-sama_ had suggested that it would be easier if each guy could help each girl through the hike, especially when it came to lugging the bags. The students then quickly nodded their heads in assent as if the idea appealed greatly to them, leaving it at that.

The even bigger surprise that followed soon after left everyone speechless and unable to complain – and they still would have been just as mute even if their teacher had not invoked the Principal's name.

The first pair announced was Sasuke and Sakura.

**Woods 1100**

"Wait, huff… Oi! I said wait, already!" Mikan, a little breathless, was already leaning against a tree, her huge camping bag dropped to the ground.

"Hurry it up, already!" groaned Kage. "You're holding up the line."

Everyone had been busy trudging through the undergrowth, wading through what seemed to be a sea of grass, swatting mosquitoes, tripping over rocks and avoiding lizards and spiders, when finally, the first confrontation of the day occurred. The buddy system had been successful thus far, when everyone 'behaved' accordingly, able to look past the differences long enough to avoid bumping into a tree branch or step over a jutting root. But then Kage's attitude kicked in, and he was unable to resist nagging his 'buddy' over yet another triviality.

"Just… huff… one minute."

"Why'd you bring such a big bag in the first place? You should've known you can't carry that much around!"

"I need this stuff," she replied stubbornly, already sitting down on the rough earth and extending her tired legs. She had the tendency to always bring too much whenever she went anywhere. It was no surprise she only owned huge backpacks and roomy sling bags.

Around them, the other campers shook their heads in disbelief. How cruel could the teachers get, pairing this two up?

Kage held out a hand. "Come on."

"Why don't you just go ahead if you're going to be like that all day?"

"I meant your bag." He grabbed it before she could protest and started down the line. "Hurry up."

"Oi! Let that go!" she complained, getting to her feet and feebly chasing after him. After a few steps, she doubled back, grabbed one of Hana's bags, and continued following after him.

"What the? I'm already carrying your load for you, and you go ahead and carry someone else's?! Rei! Carry your partner's bag!"

"But–" started the redhead.

"They have big bags!" interjected Mikan. "And Hana brought an extra one! You expect me to walk without carrying anything? I can handle it!"

The two continued to exchange shouts for a while until Mikan stopped to catch her breath… again…

…

"I _do not_ miss him," insisted Tenten in an urgent whisper, stepping over a slippery rock as she trudged after Lee.

The campers were now on a path beside the river, which was graveled and jotted with slick rocks, tall weeds and puddles.

"I didn't say anything about that just now," Lee whispered back, a seemingly innocent grin on his face. "Is it bugging you so much you just had to talk about it?"

"N-no," she stammered back, a hard blush on her face as she spied her buddy behind them, a focused and indifferent look on his face. He was ignoring her to the point of looking away, oblivious to the hushed conversation.

"Oh, I just had an idea!" exclaimed Lee with an exaggerated motion of his arms. Tenten hurriedly shushed him, but Neji paid no mind to them and neither did the others. Lee became more cooperative and lowered his voice in a conspiratorial manner. "Maybe I could trick Neji into thinking he misses _you_." He pointed both index fingers at her, as if it made the idea more appealing.

"What?!" Tenten half-whispered and half-croaked.

"That way, you don't have to admit that you missed him!"

"I do not miss him!"

Lee flew over the rocks this time as he sped away, his mood absolutely euphoric at the brilliant idea.

"LEE!" growled Tenten, chasing after him as fast as the rocky and slippery terrain would allow her.

…

The campers arrived at the crossing – some piles of rocks that connected one river bank to the other. It was summer after all, and the bank had drawn closer to each other, making the body of water more of a brook or stream.

The rocks were slippery, half submerged under the rushing current. The students couldn't help being cautious as they passed through. Most of them didn't need help across, but there were always exceptions.

Naruto held Hinata's hand while they crossed. Kage had to cross to the other side, dump his luggage and come back for his reluctant partner, whom he practically dragged across the river because she was too afraid of falling into the water. Suigetsu waded rather than use the bridge and splashed enough water around to soak Karin to the skin. Neji offered a hand to Tenten as she reached the other shore, but she flinched and fell back, bumping into Lee. Neji just continued on as if nothing happened, and Tenten kept her eyes on the ground, her face aflame, while Lee followed after them, whistling a merry tune to himself.

Sakura slipped on the mossy rocks halfway through. To her surprise, she felt a hand around her arm, supporting her back to her feet. She knew whose hand it was – it couldn't have been Ino; the blonde had already finished crossing. She shrugged the hand off, mumbled a hurried thanks and hurried on across the brook without as much as a backwards glance.

**Riverbank 1200**

They set up temporary camp on the opposite riverbank, the teachers arranging the students with their buddies rather than with their cabins. As they ate their lunch – pre-made bento boxes, the only meal they didn't need to prepare themselves for the duration of the so-called trip –, Yamato-sensei introduced them to the local flora and fauna. The instructors had initially planned to show slides back at the cabins (before the whole impromptu backpacking trip was set into motion), but at this point, they were lacking in technology. They had opted to collect the samples to exhibit, but no one was willing enough to collect the poisonous snakes and plants. This left the students nothing but what little information their sensei could provide them and their own imaginations.

After Kakashi-sensei's unsuccessful attempt at describing the difference between the rather safe and the extremely poisonous species of local snakes, the councilors decided to end the lecture, and everyone settled down to eat their lunch.

Ino wouldn't have minded being forced to sit with her _buddy_ if it weren't for the fact that the instructors separated them from their cabinmates. No Sakura, no support group. And here was Sai, acting nonchalantly cheerful beside her, doodling on a sketch pad. He was always like that – before the camp anyway –, always drawing or painting something. She used to like to see what he was making; she liked it when he asked her to model for him, which he actually did most of the time.

Sometimes he would draw Sasuke, all pretty and fan-girl-scream-worthy, just to annoy him. Whenever he drew Naruto, he always made sure the blond boy looked like a clown (which Naruto enjoyed immensely). But when he drew _her_…

Ino blinked, realizing that she'd been staring at his hands. She looked away in frustration. If, perhaps, Sai had gotten over her, which she still couldn't believe after all this time, it would be absolutely do her no good if he found her staring rudely at him… and his hands…

Okay, she wanted him back. No big deal…

… _Okay_, so it was a big deal.

Sai was cute, he was fun, he made her laugh, he always listened _and_ he was always the nice one… Ino didn't realize what she had until … Okay, that was cheesy, but yeah, she didn't appreciate him enough, taking him for granted, thinking he would always take her side no matter what. But he was his own person, and she failed to realize that. He couldn't do _everything_ she wanted, could he?

"You know, from this angle, you look like a boy."

Confused, Ino turned her head. "Excuse me?" she asked. She swore she just heard Sai's voice. Was she just imagining things?

"_I said_, from this angle, you look like a _boy_." Sai held up the sketch pad, where he had drawn Ino's profile.

"I do not!" she screamed, swiping at the drawing. From the tone of her voice, one could tell she wasn't exactly without doubt.

Sai stood up, holding the drawing over her head. "No, you really do."

"Give me that!" she demanded, jumping up to snatch it from him.

From the other side of the gathering, Sakura looked up from her lunch, muttering, "What is that noise?" She almost choked on a dumpling when she saw Ino running after Sai in what appeared to be a game of tag. That was _not_ _natural_.

…

"Are we there yet?" asked Mikan, her arms hanging limply off Kage's shoulders. When lunch was fully consumed, trash cleaned up and the bellies rested, the councilors set the caravan in motion once more At some point, Kage finally decided to carry his buddy on his back so she wouldn't have to slow them down anymore.

He ignored her question, concentrating on the path ahead. Maneuvering through the grass, rocks, roots and branches was doubly hard when the human backpack asks too many annoying questions.

"Will he be okay like that?" a curious Asuma-sensei asked their cabinmates.

Hana and Rei shrugged in reply as they carried Kage's bag between them. It wasn't like Mikan weighed that much, but carrying her _and_ her evil, dense bag must have been really, really tiring.

"Are we there yet?" repeated the curly-haired girl.

Kage suddenly heaved her upwards, sending her head into a low branch of leaves, which snagged at her hair. She pulled at his spiky hair after she managed to shake (pull and/or tear) her curls free, but he continued following the path, not stopping to put her down.

…

If the students thought they could finally get some rest when they arrived at the camp site, they were so wrong. As soon as they arrived, the instructors started barking out instructions on how to set up camp. Apparently, the teachers were thinking of the camping trip as a class on survival training (hence the earlier and somewhat inadequate lessons on local fauna and flora), something the students were not happy about. They were not looking forward to the knot training, cliff rappelling and first aid lessons (unless we were talking about CPR; that was always a plus!).

As some of the campers set up the tents, the huge behemoth variety, the rest of them received lessons on cooking. Unlike the indoor type of cooking they were used to, there were no counters, stoves or refrigerators. The ingredients were either stored in coolers (these were the perishables) and cans, both of which did not exactly seem 'fresh' to anyone. Riceballs were a welcome alternative, but that would be boring, right? It's the outdoors! Roasting over an open fire was the one way to go out here! On the other hand, the gas-operated stoves Asuma-sensei brought would suffice just as well (and was less dangerous, considering the clumsy fools expected to prepare the meals).

**THE Camp Site 1600**

"Can't I help set up the tents instead?" groaned Mikan, toiling over a slice of tomato.

"We're waiting for those slices _today_, Mikan," Hana reminded her, squatting in front of a cutting board stacked neatly with slices and dices of vegetables.

"Wait, wait, wait… here we go…" She held up a strange-looking shred whose other half was at least a centimeter thicker than the other.

Her friend stared at her and her lovely sliver of tomato before calling for Kurenai. "Sensei, can Mikan help set up camp instead?"

**Dinner 1700**

Dinner was early today. It just meant more stomach space later on when people started taking out chips and soda for the colossal slumber party that was bound to take shape.

Karin observed from a safe distance as her beloved Sasuke and what's-her-name silently ate their food. She bit on the zipper of her jacket, probably leaving teeth marks on it. She had a very good dentist after all.

They've had two meals together! This can not be happening!

With the stealth of a gamer who'd been playing one too many ninja games, Suigetsu slowly and carefully reached out for Karin's bento, aiming for the wiener dogs. But with the alertness and trained precision of one who had actually trained in jujitsu, Karin slapped his hand with a hiss, leaving a bright, red mark on it, as if it were nothing but a mosquito that needed swatting.

She's had two meals together with this dork. And that was two meals too many.

"Why don't you just tell me what happened!" she snapped at him, remembering the secret Naruto was hiding from Sasuke.

"What?" he griped, massaging his bruised hand. "You haven't been active in the rumor mill, have you? _Everyone_ knows what happened by now without anyone telling them."

"Know what?"

He motioned with his head towards the general direction of Naruto and Hinata.

"So?"

"Uh, notice how they've been holding hands and stuff?"

"Yeah."

He just stared at her.

"And?" she probed.

"That's it, I guess."

Karin just stared back at him. That was it?

…

Kin chewed her food carefully, deep in thought. Was that lemon zest?

She shook her head. Was she just analyzing her food?

She swallowed. Without a doubt, the fish – she couldn't remember their names even if her life depended on it – was delicious. She almost choked on the next bite. What if _he_ cooked it?

She shifted her eyes sideways, looking at something in the distance while spying at her buddy through her periphery. He was lucky enough to be sitting near Deidara, who was busy trying to convince him to join him in his latest project.

She recalled hearing how the blond sempai had made a cake explode before, and from what she could hear from his rave, he was up to something quite _bigger_ this time.

She saw Kiba nod his head absently, chewing a big mouthful of that nameless fish. In a bored manner, he moved his head away. And that was enough for him to find her staring right at him.

Apparently, in her carelessness, she had let her mind wander and ended up facing him directly instead.

They stared at each other in embarrassment.

Unable to say or do anything that sounded smart, Kiba held out a paper plate containing something immersed with brown sauce. "Barbeque?"

…

Kankurou had been very uncomfortable for the last few hours. First of all, he had this scary, pink-haired chick as his buddy, _and_ his sister was acting unnaturally nice to her buddy, who so happened to be that dork Shikamaru. It greatly plagued his mind how she never took too much interest in other men. Perhaps she preferred younger guys? He shivered in fright. Dude, that's like dating Gaara.

He glanced around and spotted the said younger brother with Ichigo, that cute curly-haired freshman. Man, why'd he end up with the cutie? Apparently, the girl seemed to have a crush on the redhead, staring at him with a flushed look on her face. But, yeah, Gaara was half-sleeping, half-munching his food in boredom. Typical of him to ignore the cute girl.

_Wait_, mused Kankurou, _perhaps it's some ingenious plan of playing hard to get!_

Suddenly, the redhead nodded off, falling asleep while sitting up.

_Or not._

…

"Can we talk?"

Tenten started. Great, he saw her flinch. "Aren't you already talking to me?" she asked dumbly, fiddling with her chopsticks.

"I want a truce," Neji said grimly, as if it were a matter of great consequence.

She was taken back by his sudden, straight-forward request.

She looked up and saw Lee give her a double thumbs up from a few feet away. She mentally swore to gag him, bind him and drag his sorry behind into a barber shop the minute they got home.

"What for?" she asked, maintaining what she hoped was a neutral gaze. "It's not like we're still fighting… sort of…"

He looked away, and she caught a slightly suppressed worried look on his face. "Um…" he started. "I received a call from Hanabi last night."

"Your cousin?" Tenten liked Hanabi. If it was something about Hanabi or anything she had to say, it was worth listening to. "I didn't know you could even get calls from anyone other than your parents." The camp lines were restricted to one per week except for emergencies.

"It was an emergency call." She knew it. "My parents have been busy while I've been away."

Tenten feigned a look of disinterest. Great, another one of his family dramas. This could be fun.

"They're setting me up for an omiai."

"Oh" was what she said. _Omiai_. A marriage meeting.

_Marriage_ meeting.

"A what?!" she suddenly shrieked, jumping to her feet and sending her food flying.

The whole camp stared at her in surprise.

An _omiai_ was one of those arranged dates old-fashioned parents or hired matchmakers made for those looking for potential marriages. Going to one was as good as getting an engagement. She knew Neji's family was really uppity, but that was beyond absurd. It was only in such a meeting that a jackass like Neji could actually end up finding a girl. A girl he could potentially _marry_. How old were they anyway?! An omiai?! In high school?!

Neji shushed her, pulling her back to her seat. She gaped at him as if she thought he was some sort of alien.

"Don't you dare say a word about it!"

She nodded her head. "W-why? You're what? Seventeen?"

"Barely," he answered. "My parents are wondering why I don't have a girlfriend yet."

"That's coz you're gay!"

"With Lee? You're kidding me."

"Okay, so telling your parents you're gay is out of the question." And here she was, the debate, the exchange of harsh words and the discomfort between them all but forgotten. It was the first day of summer camp all over again, and all was okay between them (probably even better, seeing as how she'd never gotten to the point of joking he was gay; no sane person would call Neji gay). He has had family problems before – sometimes his parents fought; sometimes his dad and uncle fought; sometimes his uncles fought; sometimes his cousins fought, etcetera (who knew living with a huge clan could be so full of drama?) –, and Tenten wasn't the type who didn't help a friend out.

He looked up at the skies as if to say, "Good god, spare me!" If she came up with another stupid idea, he might have to accept the omiai. Between that and being gay, he might as well just get engaged at the age of seventeen.

"Why didn't you get a girlfriend in the first place?" she scolded him, as if it was the most logical answer to the problem.

His face tensed in irritation. "You're acting as if you don't know me. Do I look like the type of guy who has time to waste impressing girls and going on dates?"

Tenten knew for a fact that Neji easily impressed girls without even thinking about it. In fact, she was as impressed as any girl could possibly get. She mentally promised herself that it was in a platonic way.

"I could…" she started. What could she do?

"That'll work," he said thoughtfully, as if she'd just suggested the perfect solution. "You could pretend to be my _girlfriend_."

She couldn't believe he said that with a straight face. "No!" She was thinking more on the lines of helping him find a suitable girl to act the part, but she had no intention of being that girl. "No way in hell!"

"What? Would you like to see Lee in a dress?"

Her eyes grew wide with terror. Slowly, she said, "Okay, I'll do it."

…

**After Dinner 1800**

As everyone finished their dinner and cleaned up, the councilors divided them according to their cabin numbers for a little 'bonding' time. Cabin B5 and G5 were particularly anxious as Kakashi-sensei rounded them up. He led them to a distant corner of the camp site, where several logs forming a rough circle were waiting for them.

He started off by asking them a few things about the camping trip so far, but it seemed more like he was talking to himself when his students wouldn't respond, bewildered at his seemingly cheerful front. They couldn't quite enjoy the fact that they had been temporarily freed from their obligations to accompany their buddies, knowing their hare-brained sensei was up to something.

He nodded his head, as if satisfied by his campers' non-reaction. "So, let's get to the fun part, shall we?"

He said _fun_. That wasn't usually a good sign.

He produced an empty bottle, holding it up in the air. "Now, who wants to play _spin the bottle_?"

The group gaped at him, shell-shocked. "Anything but that!" they all wanted to shout, but words failed them in this moment of horror.

"No kissing!" Naruto exclaimed, springing to his feet. Kissing a guy, especially Sasuke, was not on his things-I-would-gladly-do-for-free list, especially if it was Sasuke. "I'd rather kiss a rock than kiss another guy!"

"That's a great idea!" replied Kakashi with an eager snap of his fingers, earning a few gasps and shrieks from his group. "I was thinking more on the line of truth or dare, but kissing is a way funner way to play the game!" He said _funner_. Things were getting even worse.

"But, sensei–" "For the love of–" "No, no, no!" "There is absolutely no way–"

The campers' complaints came in a barrage, and any lesser man would have felt the least bit of doubt about his decision. But Kakashi was Kakashi. He did, after all, put up a picture of Kurenai in a bikini as a prize in a game of Gimme-what-I-want. What possible mischief would he possibly pass up? (I daresay, wasn't that picture the reason the feud began in the first place?)

Ignoring his students, the silver-haired man placed the bottle in the middle of their circle. The group fell silent, staring at it. He could tell that no decent teenager would be as much of a wet blanket as to pass up a game of spin the bottle. Sure, they would object at first, possibly even kick and shout while he or she was being dragged to join the circle; but they would play anyway. They would play, and they would secretly enjoy it, no matter how much they pretended to hate it. No one wanted to do the dumb dares or answer the embarrassing questions, but everyone would gladly watch their peers perform potentially humiliating stunts or reveal their deepest, darkest secret.

They continued staring at the bottle. Indeed, the temptation was quite great. Sasuke wished to embarrass someone very badly at this point, as did Sakura. Karin was already working the spin-the-bottle game into her plan of stealing a kiss from Sasuke. Meanwhile, Suigetsu was planning on ways to sabotage her plans and embarrass her while doing so.

"The rules are simple," Kakashi explained in an even voice. "I'll spin first, and I will ask whoever the bottle points to one question. If that person doesn't like to answer my question, he or she will have to kiss me. I'd really rather not have anyone kissing me, so I'll ask really easy ones. But I won't be able to guarantee that no one will try to ask some embarrassing things. You can just kiss them if you don't want to answer. Or if you'd rather not be kissed at all, ask really harmless questions anyone can answer. But what would be the fun in that, right?"

He looked at the anxious faces in the circle. He could imagine his students weighing the pros and cons of playing this game. They were falling for the sales talk. "Game?"

"Sensei," Sasuke and Sakura both spoke up, both flinching at hearing each other's voice. They glanced away, though it only further emphasized how strangely synchronized they were behaving at the moment.

Knowing fully well that neither would speak up lest they accidentally did another duet, Kakashi-sensei volunteered one of them. "Sakura?"

She proceeded cautiously, somewhat aware of a certain pair of eyes on her. "Sensei, seeing as we're still officially 'in class' right now and under the school system," – at the mention of 'class', they knew she was back in the Principal's little miss secretary mode –, "I would like to point out that according to the school rules, as is in the camp rules, kissing and all forms of public display of affection are –"

"Duly noted," cut in Kakashi, holding up a matter-of-fact finger. "_But_ I am in charge of this camp, and I am boss here, as assigned by Tsunade herself. So what _I_ say goes. And I say I'm temporarily disregarding that PDA rule. And I say we're playing Truth or Kiss. Wait, that sounds bad."

The students contemplated once more. Hinata was somewhat tired of not being able to publicly display her affections with her boyfriend. Naruto, on the other hand, was thinking of ways of defending his girl. Ino was confused and desperately trying (trying being the key word) to avoid a certain pair of onyx eyes, while the owner of the said eyes was very much succeeding in getting noticed.

"How about Kiss or Truth?" suggested Suigetsu.

"Much better," replied Kakashi, giving him a thumbs up as thanks. He watched as his students digested the idea. They were buying it.

"I take your silence as a 'yes' then," he said. Sold. He was quite pleased with himself as not one of his wards filed an objection. "One last rule," he added. "No one's allowed to lie. Anyone who's caught lying will get kissed by everyone!"

The students were shocked by the sudden treachery. How could he spring that last one on them? Lying was and always will be an option in this game, but it was one that was quite frowned upon by the game's patrons. Everyone knew that. It was not truth or dare or whatever it was called if you could just lie your way out of it. There was no thrill in hearing lesser truths in this game.

The campers wouldn't have felt as betrayed if it wasn't for the mass-kissing clause.

Very well then. They will just have to cope.

Soon enough, they found themselves anxiously spinning the bottle.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **It seems that whenever I get my hands on some vacation time, I end up wasting it on some other trivial hobby like playing Pet Society or watching some Korean drama or anime drama or playing video games. I totally wasted my summer. Huhu… school's back now… It's been back for two months now… And still, I ended up stalking cosplayers online (I know an awesome squeal-worthy team that cosplays Naruto, and some of them seem to go to my school… I've been in stalking mode recently… I haven't SEEN them yet, but they're going to need a restraining order soon).

BTW I take back what I said about this needing more chapters. _**I'll rush the story forward from this chapter on.**_ I'll try and make it quick! I need your cooperation, please! Any good ideas or at least some motivation would work. Thanks!

**Side notes:**

(1) I miss Tsunade...

(2) Camping trip inspired by my CWTS (Civic Welfare Training Service) lessons, which is on survival and rescue. I love rappelling! We already took map reading and swimming lessons. We have yet to learn first aid (including CPR!), knot-tying and the like… We'll have a brutal 2-day camp by the end of the year, which is _so _cool…

(3) I want a piggyback ride from Kage too DX.

(4) I swear that tomato incident was so true. I was in high school, probably thirteen/fourteen years old. I still don't know how to properly slice a tomato up to this point lol. Btw tomato is a _fruit_.

(5) **Omiai** is otherwise known as marriage meeting or marriage interview. I don't know how I came up with that! I was just randomly typing and bam! Omiai! Wow, I mean, a lot of shoujo manga has that sudden twist. So yeah, I didn't make omiai up. And yeah, the general idea is to leave the omiai with an engagement (especially if, say, your parents have already agreed with the other party beforehand), so it's a big deal if you're meeting someone in one (think something along the lines of arranged marriage but not necessarily so). That's why animanga characters react so violently against omiai (especially teenagers). In _Antique Bakery_, Akutagawa just straight out asked the girl he met in an omiai to marry him just because he 'felt' she was the one. Actually, that marriage ended up well, but it was sort of a more mature manga anyway, and the characters were older, so an omiai was convenient for them… not for Tachibana though. Supposedly the family heir, he has been putting off omiai for the longest time, because he wants to find his own wife rather than have his grandmother find a suitable one. Tachibana's family isn't _that_ old-fashioned to _force_ him into one.

(6) Spin the bottle. BOF (BBF if you wish) lol.

(7) Haha. Guy-on-guy. Sakura would love that lol. Would anyone be offended if I put SasuNaru fanservice in here? For some odd reason, I've been swaying towards the 'dark side' more often than I should be… hehe…

**Next Time:**

_With the deliberate slowness that bordered on torture, the dreaded question was presented._

"_Who was your first love?"_

**Salamat gid sa pagbasa! Palangga ko gid kamo tanan, bisan la gid kamo gapamatyag!**


	27. Entry 24: Truths

**The Difference between Boys and Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**A/N:** I was a little shocked when someone said they would die if I don't update. Well, here's an update to prevent people from dying lol. I mean, there are so little people reading this; can't have them die on me, right? Just took me a little too long to get this chapter right, sorry. It's almost as hard as my organic chemistry class lol.

**CHAPTER 24 - **Truths

**NIGHT 7**

With a flick of his wrist, Kakashi had the bottle spinning. Tension hung over the air as the participants seemed to hold their breaths in anticipation. Who would the first victim be? What silly thing would their sensei ask?

The rough ground caused it to skid to one side while it spun. However, it still managed to do its job and landed pointing at a target. Karin.

A devious glint appeared in her eyes as the first phase of her plan came into place. Operation Snag a Kiss from Sasuke was now set in motion.

"Let's keep it easy," said their sensei. "The first question for this game is… who was your first love?"

Kakashi-sensei was contradicting himself, but when was he not?

"So Karin, what will it be? Will you answer the question or…?"

"Duh, truth," she answered, unruffled. It was this point in the plan where she had to keep her cool and not let anyone know what she was up to. "Some kid in one of the classes I used to take. Sorta annoying, but he was cute… I think. I don't know. I can't remember."

"What?" The silver-haired teacher was somewhat disappointed. "Is that all? Can't you be more specific? Like his _name_."

"I never asked for it."

"Which class was it?"

"Swimming? Badminton? I took five sports classes that year. You can't expect me to remember."

Well, that was a boring answer. A gray and gloomy aura seemed to envelope the silver-haired man. "Can't you be more cooperative?" he asked, his voice dead and unappreciative.

"Hey, I can't help it if I was eleven years old and thought boys were gross," she shot back. "Of course I wouldn't ask his name, even if I liked him."

She was being perfectly reasonable. Even if it was a lie, no one could have called her out on it. First loves usually did not last, especially if it was at the age of eleven. But it was true, and she didn't need to lie about it. She really didn't remember the boy's name, but she was some 5% sure it must have been swimming class. But as to not associate her first love with a rather annoying boy she really hated at the moment, she would rather deem that 5% chance to be too insignificant to even consider.

Kakashi stared at her for a while before saying, "Next."

Now was the moment she was waiting for. Nonchalantly, she approached the bottle, which was resting crookedly on a jutting rock. She picked it up and set it on a more level surface, suppressing the urge to swallow the lump in her throat. How she had waited for this moment. Despite the improbability of being in a Spin the Bottle game with Sasuke, she had practiced bottle-turning countless times. It seemed that all her efforts were not in vain.

The moment of truth. With a graceful flick of her wrist, she set the bottle in motion. Not too fast as to lose control, not too slow as to seem fixed. The bottle slowed to a halt, and pointed at…

…

Karin thanked the heavens for her massive self-control. Without it, she would have surely jumped to her feet and hopped around in enjoyment. Step two of her plan was a success! The bottle, motionless, clearly pointed at Sasuke.

Unfortunately, the said target was not as euphoric at the sudden development. To him, the bottle seemed more like an accusatory finger, sentencing him to death or something to that effect. No one had any doubts that the redhead was clearly up to something.

He watched as she slowly got back to her seat, a neutral look on her face. He had to admit that she was a good actor to keep her face in check like that.

"So, Karin, what's the question?" interceded Kakashi, who was quite anxious for something, _anything_, to happen.

"Okay, let me see…" The question had to simple, straight to the point. But at the same time, it had to trap him like no other could. He had to opt out of answering that question no matter what. Better make it simple too. "What is your deepest, darkest secret?" She was exceptionally nonchalant.

Without any trace of hesitation, he replied, "I still have my stuffed toy dinosaur from when I was a baby. I still keep it in my closet." Naruto and Suigetsu erupted in raucous laughter.

Karin kept a straight face despite her urge to gape at him in horror. She tried to convince herself that his courage in admitting that would make up for the fact that (a) he'd rather divulge his most embarrassing secret rather than kiss her, and (b) he still had it, which in her opinion was not only a total waste of closet space but also a huge turn off.

It's name was Itakkun, but Sasuke was not about to divulge that; he couldn't even remember why he named it after his brother, and trying to think of a reason why his three-year-old self would do such a horrendous thing gave him goose bumps, which is why he opted to forget about the whole thing altogether. He shot his best friend a dark look that clearly stated that revealing that minor tidbit of information would cost him his blond head.

Naruto just gave him a thumbs up as he tried to suppress the next wave of hysterical laughter. Even he knew the consequences of divulging other people's secrets. Sasuke wasn't lying when he said Itakkun was his deepest darkest secret. Its name was just part of that secret, and not an entirely different one. There was no rule that required that every juicy detail be revealed. And that one piece of information was one thing that required torture before he would willingly admit to it.

Sakura wouldn't admit it, but she would have though it cute if she didn't despise him so much.

…

After a while, when they managed to calm Naruto and Suigetsu down, it was finally Sasuke's turn to spin the bottle. Without much ceremony, he merely pushed the bottle by the neck, and it 'spun' for about an inch before pointing at Naruto.

"Hey, that isn't fair!" shouted the blond boy.

"What? It's not like there was a rule that said the bottle had to spin an entire revolution."

"He is correct," said Kakashi. "Well then, Sasuke, what's your question?"

Sasuke was quick to ask. "What is the most memorable moment in your entire life?"

"You just had to ask that, didn't you?" grumbled Naruto. But his dark mood did not last long. A Cheshire smile spread on his face as a thought occurred to him. Surprised shrieks and yells erupted as he lunged at Sasuke, who was foolish enough to have sat beside him. It was a good thing the dark-haired teen had fast reflexes, as he was able to duck for cover just in time.

"Pucker up, Sasuke-kuuun."

"What the hell! I thought you said you'd rather kiss a rock!" yelled Sasuke, covering his face with his arms.

"I changed my mind. Besides, you're as good a rock as any," he replied with a dark chuckle.

"I am not letting you kiss me!"

The rest of the groups stared on with bated breaths or hanging mouths as Naruto loomed over his friend, threatening to shower him with kisses. It was just so unreal. How could this be happening?

Kakashi cleared his throat. "I don't see any kissing or telling. Which one is it already?"

With a loud laugh, Naruto released his friend's arms and sat back down. "You should've seen the look on your face, teme!"

The dark look that Sasuke shot at him looked like it could kill a lesser man (which pretty much meant everyone else).

"I was just kidding; of course I'll answer the question." Naruto was nonchalant, though he knew for certain that Sasuke was already mentally planning his funeral.

"You are very, very , very sick," muttered Suigetsu, a disbelieving look still on his face. This was the sort of joke even _he_ wouldn't go so far as doing.

Their sensei just chuckled, while Sai looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or give Sasuke a pitying glance. The others just continued gaping.

"Okay, so the most memorable moment in my life was when… . There! Done!"

"What!" exclaimed Kakashi. "We couldn't understand that! Repeat it!"

"No way! I already said it!"

"What do you mean you're not repeating it!" demanded Sasuke. Similar demands came from their group, who were dying to hear it from their mouths as well.

Meanwhile, Hinata was the only one who seemed to have understood what he had just said, her face burning a bright crimson at the revelation.

…

The following questions were pretty safe. Naruto got Suigetsu and asked what color his favorite swimming trunks were. He said black, coz they were the swim team's colors. He spun and got Hinata, and even though more than a few people wanted him to ask her the same thing Sasuke had asked Naruto earlier, he decided to piss everyone off by asking her how many siblings she had. But that was a question whose answer everyone else already knew, so he found a lot of people glaring daggers at him for having asked such a stupid question.

It was then Hinata's turn. For some strange twist of fate, she managed to get Naruto. With an almost permanent blush on her face, she asked, "Sensei, is it against the rules to ask the same question?"

"On the same person? Go ahead," replied Kakashi.

And so she asked, "What's the most memorable moment in your whole life?" This surprised more than a few people, because they knew Kakashi was just joking, but then again, they could finally get a straight answer from him.

Or he could just bend down and kiss her.

Ino and Sakura mentally gave themselves a face palm. Of course he could just kiss her instead of answering!

The air was heavy with a collective sigh of disappointment. The two were taking advantage of the game.

But the kiss lasted perhaps a second too long, and their sensei finally intervened. "Chotto, chotto," said Kakashi, pulling Naruto away by the collar. "I hereby apply a two-second rule for the two of you. Any longer than that is abuse of the absence of the PDA rule." Some of their friends snickered around them.

"There is _no_ PDA rule," complained the blond, "so how can we abuse it?"

"I think I should sit over here," said their sensei, squeezing between the two.

"No fair."

"Shut up. My game, my rules. Next."

It was Naruto's turn again, and he was in the mood for revenge. He didn't even spin the bottle. Instead, he turned it by the neck so it would point at their sensei.

…

Naruto crammed as many questions into one. But Kakashi said it was unfair, but the blond boy reasoned that a question could only end where the question mark appeared. That doesn't make sense, countered Kakashi. But the others agreed with Naruto. After all, it _sounded_ like just one question.

At the pressure of his students, he gave in to answer all the questions.

Question number one was "Who was your first love?"

"Easy, Lupin III's Fujiko!" The students booed in response. Crushing on anime characters shouldn't count.

"First pet?"

"Shiro-kun."

"First girlfriend?"

"Aya. College." They gave him disbelieving stares. _College?_ "What?" he defended himself. "I used to prioritize school, y'know."

"Have you ever gone out with any of the Konoha Institute teachers?"

"Yes."

"Who was it?"

"Anko." People gasped and leered in response. "But it was a stupid idea. It didn't end well," he added.

"Second date?"

"Hell no."

"Current girlfriend?"

"None."

"Sob… Wish I could've squeezed in more questions," lamented Naruto.

"Just shut up and let me spin," replied Kakashi.

…

It was Sakura.

"Hm, what should I ask?"

With the deliberate slowness that bordered on torture, Kakashi presented the dreaded question.

"Who was your first love?"

Sakura gulped. Some suppressed shrieks. Naruto was making hand signals, trying to impress on their sensei that that was not the smartest question to ask. But Kakashi was in a rather vengeful mood, and the pink-haired girl just happened to be the unfortunate target.

This was the question she had been anticipating since the game began. Someone was bound to ask. Anyone, which more or less meant _everyone_, knew who her first love was (maybe everyone except Suigetsu and Karin, who both did not attend the same middle school or elementary school). Would it be wiser to admit it now, or just suffer the kiss?

The kiss would be embarrassing. The truth would be just as – if not, even more so – humiliating.

She considered lying, which was her only other choice (because face it, if she were to run for her life, they would just chase her down; most of these guys were athletic, and she didn't stand a chance of outrunning any of them), but the result was probably the worse that could perhaps befall her.

She didn't need to see to know of the looks of anticipation on the group's faces. They knew of the dilemma she was going through, and they were sure as hell anxious to hear her answer. Would she answer? Would she tell the truth or tell an outright lie? Would she rather…?

She opened her mouth to speak. At that point, she didn't know what she was about to say, whether it was to accept the dare, to lie, or to tell the truth. But then she saw Sasuke's face. He had a look that just seemed to say, 'go ahead, say it'. Because face it, they both knew it was not him who would be embarrassed.

Her eyebrows met in irritation. She simply couldn't let him have his way.

"I used to be this really annoyingly stupid kid," she started, confident in her contempt, "who was so stupid to have such a childish crush." She softened her tone to a sweet honey tone. "There was this really cute, cute boy, who was just like a cute little teddy bear," – she paused when someone snickered – ", but he never did notice her. I guess little boys at that age were they were still at that 'scared of cooties' stage."

Suigetsu held both hands over his mouth, suppressing a wave of hysterical laughter. Sakura was using a rather hilarious tone of voice, one which was meant to be annoying at best. He didn't need to check and see that it was producing the desired effect.

She glimpsed to see if Kakashi was interested; he was. Otherwise, she would have had to cut her charade short. "Anyway," the pink-haired girl droned on, "one day, I just realized it was all a really big, stupid crush."

"And his name was –" their sensei interrupted.

"His name was Sasuke." Before anyone could demonstrate any substantial reaction to her revelation, she added, "The Sasuke I know now is a total jerk though."

She was so over him, and they should know that. Well, that wasn't so embarrassing, was it?

She saw Sasuke roll his eyes as if she had said something so obvious it wasn't worth mentioning.

And she wouldn't admit it at the time, but she couldn't help missing the little boy who never did notice her.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Sorry for the short chapter. Been dying to upload, yet had nothing finished on hand. I'll see what I can do better with the next chapter.

Edited all the DBG chapters. Small minor changes. OC art in a link at the bottom of my profile. Check it out.

**Side notes:**

(1) My sister (just a year younger than me) used to have a baby blanket she would never let go of, even just to have it washed. I think they managed to trick her so they could get rid of it permanently.

**Next Time: **_The moment Sakura released the words, "so what was your stuffed dinosaur's name?", Naruto was convinced Armageddon was falling upon them._

**Salamat gid sa pagbasa! Palangga ko gid kamo tanan, bisan la gid kamo gapamatyag!**


	28. Entry 24 point 5: Lie, Lie, Lie

**The Difference between Boys and Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**A/N:** Got a suggestion off alayneni for this update's first part. Thanks, thanks! Second half of what should be chapter 24.

**CHAPTER 24.5 – Lie, Lie, Lie**

**NIGHT 7**

As expected, with the way she had answered Kakashi's question, not a single one of the people surrounding the bottle looked as if they were crazy enough to tease her about her old crush on Sasuke. Naruto had a look that seemed to say "now, what am I supposed to do with the two of you?", while Sasuke had a smug expression on his face. Some looked wary. "Here they go again," they seemed to think.

Meanwhile, Kakashi had that disappointed-mad look on his face. Again. "Couldn't you just have said 'Sasuke' and gotten it over with?" he grumbled. If she'd done that, the silver-haired sensei could have had material for future exploitation purposes. But she just had to go and make fun of her younger self and make it seem like one big, cruel, ironic joke. Which it was, by the way. How was he supposed to use that against her?

Sakura just smiled in response.

"Okay, spin the bottle," he demanded.

…

Itakkun had sat in that closet in that side shelf since Sasuke had turned 8. That was when the boy started playing sports and forgot about toys. It had sat there for so long Sasuke often forgot it was there, just looking down at him from its lonesome little corner (even if it sat where Sasuke could see it; oftentimes, his eyes would merely see past it as if it had never existed). Naruto discovered it one day when they were 13 during a sleepover. The dark-haired boy refused to acknowledge it, insisting that it was some toy one of his cousins had left behind. But Itachi had heard the racket and appeared, inevitably exposing the secret – that the stuffed animal was indeed his brother's and that it was named after him.

Sasuke seethed the whole night, while Naruto kept chuckling whenever his friend wasn't looking. They played video games later on, and a certain someone let off too much steam on innocent, virtual 3D characters with a few, violent 20-button combo smashes that looked like they could destroy a controller or two.

Naruto had never played the Beat-em-to-Death video game series with Sasuke ever again. That was how scary his friend had looked that night.

When Sakura spun Sasuke purely by coincidence, Naruto had seen that as a bad sign.

But the moment their pink-haired friend released the words, "so what was your stuffed dinosaur's name?", the blond boy was convinced Armageddon was falling upon them. The world would sooner end before Sasuke answered that question. Sakura should have known that! And the alternative was too horrible to imagine.

"Scratchy," Sasuke answered quickly and without hesitation, as if he was answering a quiz show.

Naruto gaped at him in disbelief. That lie was so smooth you could practically slip on it, slide off, crash into a trash pile and break a few bones.

Sakura established eye contact with Sasuke, and a glaring contest ensued.

Kakashi's eyes tightened in apprehension. There was something fishy about that answer, he could tell. He suddenly sprang to his feet, his eyes lit up brighter than a lighthouse. "Gimme a minute," he said, rushing away.

Save for the two who were deadlocked in a glaring contest, the rest of his students stared after him in confusion.

"Call of nature?" suggested Naruto.

They stared at each other, not knowing what to do without their sensei. Should they continue without him? Or wait till he got back?

Suigetsu yawned as he watched the two glare at each other. He found it neither fun nor exciting to watch them fight anymore. The excitement had worn off, and two seemed to have been fighting so long they may as well have been a married couple by now. If he was going to find entertainment around here, he may as well make it himself.

He noticed a sudden movement on the log he was sitting on. He grinned, an idea crossing his mind. He scooped something from the bark and looked around for a victim. Sasuke sat to his left, sitting beside Naruto. Nah, not them. Guys were never fun to mess with; they didn't scream as much. To his right sat Sai, who was busy looking at something across the circle. This guy was the type who wasn't aware of his surroundings when he was busy with something, whatever that was. Conveniently, sitting across from him was Karin, grumbling something under her breath. She was still not over how her Operation Steal a Kiss from Sasuke had failed. Her distracted state of mind and already tense nerves were just perfect.

Suigetsu smiled, his left canine sticking out in an almost bestial manner. Throwing something across that distance was a piece of cake. He stretched an arm back, as if to stretch his arms. Nonchalantly, and with an offhand flick of the wrist, he sent a small, brown snake flying across the circle.

…

The snake bounced off Karin's head… and landed on Ino's lap.

The redhead touched her head in surprise. The blonde, on the other hand, saw the reptile and, in the dim lantern light, thought it was a twig. Until it faced her and opened its mouth, sticking its forked tongue at her. A breathless squeak escaped her lips as she realized what it was, and she found herself frozen in place, her earlier knowledge on what was and wasn't poisonous escaping her.

"Ino? What's wrong?" she heard someone ask.

"S-s-snake." Her whisper sounded more like a hiss than anything else. She heard Karin gasp and run off the log they both shared as a seat.

She watched the snake eye her, its mouth still opened towards her. Beside her, on the nearby log, she could hear someone gasping out words of encouragement, but she couldn't tell if whoever that was was saying, "Don't move" or "Run for it."

She didn't know if the others didn't know what was happening, or if they were just as struck cold as she was.

To her astonishment, a shadow fell over her as a hand came forth, plucked the animal by the head and threw it over her and into the bushes behind them.

…

By now, anyone who had gone through what Ino had would have been convinced that the heavens were out to get them. The forest, the lake, and now, even wriggly little snakes. First, they tried to drown her; secondly, they threw a snake at her (because even if the sad creature was not poisonous, it _could_ have killed her with fear anyway).

"Ino, are you okay?" asked Sakura, shaking her friend by the shoulder. "Were you bitten?"

Around them gathered their friends, all suddenly aware of what had just transpired.

"I'm okay," she replied. "Just a little shocked."

She looked around and saw her friends' faces, and through the mass of surrounding bodies, she saw Sai sit back down on his spot across the circle.

…

"You can let go now," said Suigetsu, just managing to control the sulfur in his voice. Some of the campers were throwing odd glances in his direction. It couldn't have been because they knew about the snake (which was, in his defense, a harmless, venomless little creature that was acting way too tough considering its size). No, it was not that, my friends. He shot his fellow campers an annoyed look, and they looked away, embarrassed of having been caught looking.

He was more than annoyed that his plan failed, of course, but that wasn't the grave issue at hand either. It was not only because he didn't get any screams, but also because Karin had, at the moment she saw the snake, rushed right at him, using his back as a safe shelter from whatever evil powers the mighty serpent could have unleashed upon her from more than 5 feet. _No one_ saw that coming.

Now she sat beside him, closer than what was comfortable, her fingers clutching to his shirt like a lifeline.

"Get back to your seat," he groaned, convinced that karma had finally fallen upon him with a vengeance and whoever was in charge of these karmic powers had a dark sense of humor.

"Are. You. Nuts?" gasped the redhead. "There. Are. Snakes. Over. There!" Under different circumstance, Suigetsu would have laughed at the irony. After all, Karin was now sitting on the exact spot he had picked up the offending creature in the first place.

Ino had stayed in her seat, a distracted look on her face. Apparently, her location didn't bother her one bit. Why couldn't Karin follow her example?

"Can't you just stick to Sasuke instead?"

"He… I, uh…"

"Huh?" he asked, louder. "Speak up. Can't hear you."

"Sh! I just… don't want him to see me like this," she whispered.

"So you do have some sense of shame." He nudged her with his elbow. "Let go."

"Sh! I don't want him to know I'm hanging on to you either, so shut up." Suigetsu noted how Sasuke, who sat on his opposite side, wasn't even paying them any attention, much less care what Karin was or was not doing.

"You're really scared of snakes, aren't you?" sniped the aqua-haired boy.

He felt her grip on his shirt tighten for a moment. "Just shut up."

"Here you are making a burden of yourself and you're giving me orders." He made as if to stand up and drag her back to her seat, but she held fast, grabbing his elbow and pulling him back down.

"Please don't."

Suigetsu blinked a few times before he registered what she just said. Peas? Pleas? Fleas?

"Come again?"

"Don't make me repeat it," she said through gritted teeth.

"God, I'm imagining things. When the hell is sensei getting back?"

"Yo!" came Kakashi-sensei, almost knocking his students off their seats with his sudden appearance. He stood where the lanterns' light could just barely illuminate him. "Sorry I took so long!"

"Sensei…" whined some of them. "Took you long enough!" said one in particular.

"I had to look for a validator," replied the silver-haired man.

Behind him, a dark silhouette came forth, entering the circle of light.

Sasuke, for such a smooth liar, couldn't suppress a look of shock when he saw that it was his brother.

…

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Midterms were hell… when I saw my chem test results, I thought I was hallucinating. I actually passed! Woooh… (I had long since given up on getting high grades, boo.)

**Side notes:** I hate small, wriggly snakes the most. I've had too many experiences with them. And with a couple of bigger, longer ones. Trust me, when you find yourself in a small bathroom with a long coiled snake hanging off a nail near the door (your only escape route), you can't help but talk in shaky whispers. In a separate event, an even bigger one just popped out of nowhere behind our speakers while we were watching Disturbia from a CD (hence the sound systems) during the climax scene and just hissed right at me and my sister. It was also my dad's birthday lol. It ended with a snake hunt.

**Next Time: (for real now) **_"W-wait a minute," stammered Hinata, "you two are friends again?" Being caught in your ex-friend's arms wasn't exactly the way Tenten expected her friends to find out about making up with the said ex-friend. It was rather embarrassing._


	29. Entry 25: Kisses and Lover’s Carries

**The Difference between Boys and Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**Reminder:** Remember the rules? If you choose not to answer, you kiss the one who asked the question. If you lie, everyone's gotta kiss you! Mwahahahaha…

**CHAPTER 25 – Kisses and Lover's Carries**

**NIGHT 7**

Kakashi was ecstatic. Someone was finally going to get it today. His students could swear they saw an evil, masochist glint in his eye.

They turned towards Sasuke, who finally managed to get his poker face back on.

"You guys already know the consequence of being caught in a lie," continued their sensei, "and since it is a pretty harsh punishment, I'd like to have the legitimacy of Sasuke's answer validated. I have an offer for you though, Sasuke-kun. If you tell us the truth, if you did lie, then we waive off your punishment." Some gasps of protest resounded. "But if you stand by your answer, and it's proven to be a lie, you know what the punishment will be."

Naruto eyed his best friend warily, though the dark-haired teen still had a composed expression on.

"What'll it be then?" urged Kakashi.

Sasuke didn't bother looking up at his brother again. He was screwed. Like, nasty screwed. If he were to lie, Itachi may (with a probability so low it was insignificant) play along and lie for him (though it was, as already stated, truly impossible, no matter how you look at it); or even worse, he may just outright reveal what the stuffed animal's name was, the same way he did when Naruto first found out about it so many years ago. If Sasuke himself were to just reveal the truth … well, that wasn't even an option he was considering.

"I stand by what I said," he replied, and Naruto was doing all he could to stop himself from doing a face palm.

"Well, Itachi-kun," started Kakashi, slowing his speech in an obnoxious manner, "was Sasuke-kun's stuffed pet dinosaur named Scratchy?"

The tips of Itachi's mouth almost seemed to twitch upwards in response.

"No, I'm afraid not."

A deadly silence fell upon the group. Sasuke had just lied, and his own brother had ratted him out. Such… drama….

"How do we know sempai's telling the truth?" Suigetsu asked, breaking the silence.

"I could tell you what the real name is," replied Itachi.

"You don't have to," Sasuke replied quickly. "I lied. I admit it. Let's just get the punishment done and over with already." He shot his older brother a look that he tried to pass off as threatening. Unfortunately, it came out as more as half-pleading. His oniisan chuckled, shaking his head slightly. Being caught in a lie was enough of a punishment for his otoutou. He wasn't the kind of older brother who liked to rub it in. No one else would know of the secret tonight.

"Good job, Itachi-kun," said Kakashi, giving Sasuke's niisan a pat on the back. "But seeing as I've dragged you all the way here, would you like to participate in the punishment?"

Looks of horror spread in the circle like a flash fire. Getting Itachi within ten feet of Sasuke was dangerous enough, knowing that they weren't the best of friends. And to suggest such a heinous thing?

Naruto felt like a thunderstorm had erupted around his head. Certainly, Kakashi-sensei ought to be aware what kind of torture he was inflicting on this poor student (though the blond boy had to admit there was nothing poor or pitiful about Sasuke, especially with that intense – and undoubtedly hateful – set of his otherwise pretty-boy eyes). Was there no end to this silver-haired man's cruelty?

In his mind, Sasuke was already plotting revenge on their sensei. Where did this silver-haired, fox-eyed sneak of a guy even come from anyway? He'd always known Kakashi wasn't normal – but he'd never expected him to be _this_ abnormal.

"I'm sure you wouldn't mind taking my place," continued Kakashi, unaware of the creative going-ons inside his students' heads.

"Of course," replied Itachi, "I wouldn't mind at all." With the way their sensei had phrased that query, there was no doubt a respectful and obedient student such as Itachi would graciously accept the offer. Kakashi was good with words, that was for sure. And Itachi had no idea what was to happen next.

Already, Kakashi's murder had its level of pain and length of time doubled inside Sasuke's head. Naruto was already praying for their sensei's soul.

Meanwhile, Suigetsu was agape in awe, reveling in this man's genius. Why didn't he notice that such a gloriously brilliant and despicable bastard existed in their midst? This man was truly remarkable! He, the mere mortal, Suigetsu, could not possibly reach such a level of god-like cruelty, especially against someone as formidable a target as Sasuke. He had much to learn from this man.

"Well, then, Naruto?" called out their sensei.

A look of dread fell on Naruto's face, which paled as if his soul had jumped out of his body. Sasuke had to grab him by the shirt and say, "Oi, Naruto, wake up! Just do it and get it over with already!"

"No way!" protested the blond, rearing away, as if it would kill him to do it. "I am not kissing you, Sasuke-teme! I already said I'd rather kiss a rock! If Kakashi-sensei gets to trade with Itachi, let me trade too! I'll kiss a rock if I have to!" He thrashed his arms about, as if that would do him any good.

"Hinata-chan, would you like to go first instead?" suggested the silver-haired devil.

Naruto shot their teacher a look that displayed how cheated he felt. Before the girl could reply, he raised both arms in surrender and said, "_Fine_. I'll kiss Sasuke _twice_ as long as Hinata doesn't have to kiss him."

"What a great idea," replied an ecstatic Kakashi. "That would make things much more interesting."

"Why'd you have to double it?" an irked Sasuke grumbled through his teeth.

"What were you saying earlier?" replied the blond teen in the same manner. "Just get it over with already, right?" An utterly demonic look possessed his face. "I'm coming atcha!"

…

Karin stared in disbelief as an almost remake of an earlier scene transpired once more before her eyes. Here was Naruto trying to kiss Sasuke again. And this time, Sasuke was not fighting back… too much. She couldn't even think straight at the sight. A prickling pain under the bridge of her nose signaled an almost nosebleed.

Suigetsu was not stupid to not notice this. She was clutching his arm now with such an intensity any lesser man would have yelped in pain. But Suigetsu was Suigetsu, and when he had something wicked in mind, there was no such thing as pain to him.

…

"I can't believe it," said Sakura, as she watched Naruto force a second kiss on Sasuke's cheek. By then, the two guys were already gagging from the vileness of what they had to go through. Unfortunately for Sasuke, the worst was yet to come. "I think we're supposed to kiss him," continued the pink-haired girl.

"You realize that now?" asked Ino. "You should have thought about that when you asked that question."

"I thought he was going to answer it!"

It was then Itachi's turn, and by then, he had already realized what he had gotten into. But he was not a killjoy. As sportsmanly as he could, he squatted beside Sasuke and gave it no other thought – just another family kiss. But his younger brother couldn't help scrunching his face at it. Itachi gave him a pinch on the cheek before greeting them goodbye – something his _otouto_ could finally sigh in relief for.

Kakashi volunteered Suigetsu and Karin next, and while the redhead was savoring the moment before the kiss, the aqua-haired star swimmer managed to snag her chance, kissing Sasuke twice under the excuse that Karin was too shy to take a turn. The red-haired girl almost cried in disbelief upon realizing that her opportunity had been taken from her yet again. She was a broken little thing when Suigetsu took his seat beside her, that much everyone could see. She had a speechless, open-mouthed look on her face, an opaque mist covering her glasses. She was out cold with a single kiss, a kiss which was not, much to her chagrin, exchanged between her and her beloved.

Sai went up next, but much to everyone's surprise, he went up to Ino, kissed her right on the lips and kissed Sasuke, who was busy wiping his right cheek clean, twice on the left cheek (which now made the poor boy fervently wipe both cheeks raw).

And thus, Ino was knocked out cold, frozen in place like a pretty, shocked mannequin. Two knockouts in one night. (This made Suigetsu think, "Damn, if I'd kissed Karin…! She'd have probably died on the spot! Poor thing, tsk, tsk…")

And Sakura stared at this lifeless, blond thing beside her, in a state of panic for losing her right-wing commander. Who was to support her now that she was about to kiss that demon?

Once more, as sea-green orbs met with onyx, static so violently thick sparked the air, and it almost seemed as if merely moving through it could induce a flash fire.

It was the same challenge in those cold, dark eyes that seemed to say, "I dare you. Go ahead. Embarrass yourself."

She got up, gulping loudly. It seemed she would have to suffer humiliating defeat tonight.

**Day 8 0700 **

That morning, the instructors gathered their cabin groups and started demonstrating the proper carries and knots used in rescue and survival. Half the cabins chose to do carries first, while the other studied knots. Cabins BG-6 were one of the teams practicing the carries.

All throughout the carrying exercises, the campers showed much enthusiasm in acting their part, the pretend-victims laying about in their most creative half-dead poses. One even thought it would be more realistic if he were suffering from epileptic shock. His rescuer gave up halfway through, since he was too busy laughing to carry his victim anywhere.

The carry of most interest was the lover's carry. Oftentimes used by the groom to carry his bride off her feet, it was and would perhaps forever be considered a romantic display of affection. For this class however, it was just one of many ways the rescuers-in-training could use to transport an injured or unconscious victim to a hospital or a safer place.

"I shall now take you out of harm's way!" exclaimed Lee, barely breaking a sweat as a rather frightened Chouji rested on his shoulders in a fireman's carry, the latter of whom was in a state of panic over his sempai's enthusiasm.

"Lee! Don't run!" chorused their teammates. Someone needed to worry for the overly zealous youth, which was something he was prone of not doing.

Meanwhile, Neji, discouraged earlier on by the fact that Lee was an athlete and most probably even heavier than he was (and was he glad he had nothing to do with the said friend's infernal antics), had opted to partner up with Tenten, who, by virtue of being a girl, was a lot lighter than their friend. Unfortunately, she was not quite as enthusiastic of the activity as their more active, thick-browed friend.

"I am not letting you carry me on your shoulders," complained the brunet girl.

"You don't trust me?"

"That is not a safe carry," she insisted. For one thing, seeing Lee do it so recklessly was quite unnerving. For another, the fireman's carry involved properly balancing the victim on the rescuer's shoulders, requiring the former's center of gravity to be placed behind the latter's neck. If that balance was not achieved, the victim would slide off and bring his or her rescuer down with him. For example, an incident where that mistake was made had occurred earlier. No serious injury was caused, since a few guys were wary enough to have 'watched' and come to the rescue on time. The said couple involved in the mishap insisted that they were practicing John Cena's FU, but the teachers didn't think it was a tasteful joke.

Neji lifted an eyebrow.

"I don't want to be carried like a sack of rice," she amended.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, lover's carry it is then–"

"Don't call it that!"

"_Okay_… no fireman's. How about lo – I mean, _that_ carry?"

She grimaced, clicking her tongue. "No."

"What about backstrap or piggyback?"

"No, no, no, we are not doing either of that."

Neji had been (or was trying to be) patient all morning. He crossed his arms, trying to keep the frustration from building. Tenten was being such a girl.

"Okay, let's say you've been injured," he started, hoping it didn't sound forced, "in some deep, dark ravine in some god-forsaken jungle, and I'm the only one who can rescue you. The terrain is rough and hard to get to, and you're location is quite dangerous. Let's say a rock slide would bury you alive if I didn't carry you to safety. If you were to choose between either one of those carries, which one would it be?"

"Wait." She put an index finger against her lips, thinking.

"Nope, can't wait. The rocks are about to fall, and I'm going to leave you to die if you don't think fast enough."

"What sort of rescuer is that?" she complained.

"A practical one. As long as he's alive, he can keep on saving more people. Hurry, the rocks are falling."

"_Fine_, the lover's carry then!"

"I thought you didn't want to call it that."

"Shut up and rescue me already."

…

BG-5, on the other hand, was practicing knots. And Sasuke, being the overachiever that he was, was perfecting the art of tying the highway man's knot. Knot-tying, as professed by their sensei, was an art. In other words, the prettier the knot, the better you did.

He was busy adjusting his work to look perfectly when a hand thrust what seemed to be a hangman's noose in front of him. "You seriously need to repent for your sins," said Naruto, a somewhat somber on his face. "Though I don't think you can go to heaven if you commit suicide." He stole a glance at the G5 girls, most of which looked quite out of it. Sakura was nowhere in sight though.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Since when did you care for my soul?"

"That's the problem. I don't think you have one."

"How did you know I traded it with the devil?"

"That is sick. But highly probable. I should have realized that sooner." He untied his cord with a vengeance. He folded it in half, pulled the loop under and back over his arm. With a frustrated huff, he then started the seemingly uncomplicated process of tying a highway man's knot. Unfortunately, it neither looked as pretty nor as sturdy as his friend's. "What did you trade it for?"

"Good looks and a high IQ. You should try it some time. It'd be a vast improvement."

"Nah, I don't think I can handle the consequences later. I don't think hell has iced tea and root beer floats. And I especially don't think I can spend the whole of eternity there with you. You, you demon on earth! …Hey, show me how you did that knot again."

"I'm afraid people who have no souls, especially if they're demons, are not obliged to help anyone, even so-called friends."

"You're lucky you even have a friend. You already scared the other one away." He gave Sasuke a naughty grin. "Or more like kissed her away."

Sasuke shot him a dark look, having finished his knot all the way to the ends. He then started the uncomplicated yet time-consuming efforts of untying it. He pulled one end, unraveling one loop, then the other end, unraveling another loop. After a few more tugs, the knot was undone.

"I'm not teaching you," he said, getting up and setting off in a fast sprint.

"Oi, teme!" groaned Naruto, following suite. "Show me!"

…

Neji finally hoisted Tenten up in his arms, and truth be told, she was heavier than she looked. He soon realized that such observations should never be voiced, especially if the said person had a mean pinch.

"W-wait a minute," stammered Hinata, "you two are friends again?" She'd been looking for Naruto when she found BG-6 practicing carries.

Being caught in your ex-friend's arms wasn't exactly the way Tenten expected her friends to find out about making up with the said ex-friend. It was rather embarrassing.

"Actually…" started Neji.

"Apparently, we're boyfriend and girlfriend now," added Tenten.

Hinata gaped at them open-mouthed. For one thing, the headlines were more likely to announce that pigs were flying than for those words to come out of her mouth.

Neji let his partner down, and she approached Hinata and tapped her mouth closed. "That was a joke," said the bun-wearing girl, "you can laugh now."

…

**Cabin G5's tent 0800**

Last night was not a particularly pleasant night for Sakura. She hadn't entertained any romantic thoughts towards _him _in years. if last night's incident had happened way, _way_ back when she still had been foolishly captivated by Sasuke's mysterious charm (whatever that mystery was, she knew that behind that pretty face was nothing more than a big ego and a huge superiority complex), she would have had a totally different reaction.

She rolled across her sleeping bag, groaning in annoyance. To her dismay, last night's memory was taking a grand effort to forget. And in her defense, it was not from lack of trying.

She had gotten up with legs shaking and a forced look of indifference on her face. She had vaguely entertained the notion of not pushing through with the "punishment" (which seemed more like a punishment for _everyone_ rather than that liar), but she knew Kakashi could just make up some stupider punishment for that. It felt as if someone had pressed the slow mo button as she crossed the circle, hoping, _wishing_, that Sasuke felt just as embarrassed as she was. But his poker face had been more composed than hers, and that was not very reassuring.

She couldn't tell how slow or fast she took to span that distance, but no matter how painfully slow it had felt, it was not slow enough. Before she knew it, she was already in front of him. He had gotten up, towering a few good inches over her, irking her for giving her the extra service. All eyes were on her now, especially a pair of onyx orbs that she, had she been born a crow, would have gladly pecked out that very moment.

She had not intended to glare, but all thoughts of her plan to get it over with quickly slipped her mind like sand through a sieve, and she found herself glaring at him. He was generous enough to return the glare, traces of that smirk she detested visible on the edges of his mouth. It was only when Kakashi, that rat, had cleared his throat loud enough that she finally broke eye contact.

She then refocused, intent on performing the task at hand and returning to her seat before she did something nasty (which, no doubt, would have included nails; unfortunately for him, she hadn't cut her nails since camp started). She moved her head to the side and was aiming for his cheek (or an ear, if she could reach one) when he suddenly turned, catching her off guard and sending her lips smack dab on his.

A sneak attack.

She squealed, jumping back, and if she could have heard beyond the chaos inside her head she would have heard the surprised gasps and shrieks her campmates gave out.

One of her hands had flown to her mouth in disbelief. He. Was. Not. Supposed. To. Do. That.

The only thing she could remember after that was that evil smirk on his face. Everything else that followed was a mere blur.

"Sakura, you here?" She sprang up in bed, snapped out of the nightmare that was last night's memory. "Yeah?" she replied.

"Are you sure you don't want to leave the tent?" continued Ino, ducking her head through the tent door. No one had seen finger nor strand of hair from Sakura outside the tent that morning. She had eaten in her sleeping bag and had cut the knot-tying and carry lessons, and Kakashi had looked past her absence. "We're done with the lessons. We have an hour to pack up before we head out for the hike."

"Tell them I'm sick. With dengue. Or pneumonia. Or terminal cancer! You can leave me here for all I care." She rolled unto her stomach, burying her head under the folds of the sleeping bag.

Ino groaned in annoyance.

"How is she?" asked Hinata, peeking through the door.

"Ugh, acting like a big baby." The blonde rolled her eyes. "A cooty shot's what she needs, really."

"Speaking of cooties," mumbled her more timid friend, tapping her on the shoulder.

Ino turned to see Sai about to pass their tent. She gasped, suddenly jumping into the tent and zipping it closed to the surprise of the dark-haired girl.

"What are you–?" asked Sakura when the blonde dived into the adjacent sleeping bag.

"Tell sensei I have pneumonia!" shrieked Ino.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: I cannot explain myself. An update for the starved readers out there.**

**Random outburst: **I just reread _Shin Angyo Onshi_, an awesome battle-oriented Korean-made, Japanese-published work with a flair for drama and lots of tragedy. As I'm editing this, all the Naruto characters in my head look like they've been drawn by the magnificent Yang Kyung Il of the god-like hands! I could reread SAO many more times for the sake of Munsu and the younger Won Sul (undead Won Sul is hot too)! They don't start looking devastatingly handsome until after a few volumes, but Munsu has that wit and charm you've got to love even in the first few chapters… sigh… And Won Sul's really cute when he was younger, and by that, I also mean the gaiden… Super tragic character though… Waah, Shin Angyo Onshi! I've urged everyone I can to read it! A work of art, I tell you (especially for those interested in Korean culture, especially in the ancient times… except it has a twist of fantasy, RPG-ish clothes, more-than-Claymore-ish beasts and a few S&M gear)! If there're any guys out there, it has Chun Hyang/Sando and Miss Hwang! Well, their outfits are… well, let's just say I'm always waiting for the day they wear more clothes, seriously, lol. Oops, author's note's too long!

**Side notes:**

(1) Sasuke got kissed be a lot of guys (sometimes twice from each person)… it's just so… fuuuuuuuuuuuuuunny… Super lol…

(2) I'm a Catholic. But according to Dante's online inferno test, if I go to hell, I'd be thrown into the fifth circle for sloth and wrath. The two mortal sins that best describe me. So true, so true.

(3) We learned carries and knots in CWTS too. Our team captain can lift any of the smaller guys in a **fireman's** carry (on the shoulders) easily. I can do a **lover's** carry for the lightest girl in the group, though they say we're just about the same weight (she can carry me too!). The said lightest girl and I were the favorite victims during the practical exams. Btw **backstrap** is just like the **piggyback**, except the rescuer doesn't hold the legs. The **knots** were fun too, but **rope transfers** were quite tiring unless you've gotten the hang of it. Two minutes and fifty-nine seconds up the wall on my third try! Woohoo!

(4) **MANGA SPOILER!** Karin meets Sakura, and we don't get a cat fight. What? And they look as if they'll get along given the chance! Now I even sorta feel sorry for Karin now. Who woulda thunk it? **SPOILER END!**

Piggy back or lover's carry from Neji? Which would you choose?

**Next time: **_"That can't be," said Gai-sensei, who, along with Anko, Iruka and Shizune, made up the second set of instructors that made up the end of the line._

"_Two campers are missing," said Shizune, Anko's string of profanities proliferating in the background._


	30. Entry 26: Cliff

**The Difference between Boys and Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**A/N:** Made a little change in the last chapter. Instead of heading back to the cabins, the campers will be going out in a trek. This chapter may be a little short, but I hope you like it.

**CHAPTER 26 – Cliff**

**DAY 8**

Suigetsu was currently in a state of elation, his head a thousand miles in the clouds. Between Sasuke's embarrassment, their sensei's genius and the three girls' chagrin, last night easily topped as the best night of this entire camp. It could have probably even made it as the best night of his _entire_ life. He was on his way back to the tents when he spotted a splash of color from behind a tree.

Backing up, he found a familiar face behind the trunk. "Yo, Karin," he greeted, his effervescent mood rendering him oblivious to the gray and gloomy aura enveloping his "buddy". He didn't even recall not having seen her all morning. She had cut the lessons. And if anyone even noticed, she hadn't stepped in G5's tent the whole night after last night's fiasco.

She sat on a tree trunk, her legs pulled up to her chest. She turned to look at him, the expression on her face so dead she could have easily passed for a Junji Ito zombie. "Yo," she replied in a tired voice, as if she hadn't the energy to reply. Had he been more aware of himself (if he wasn't just so, so euphoric) he would have distinctly remembered reading one such story by the horror manga king that had something to do with heartbroken zombies. But then again, he was beyond noticing her state, and as soon as she said those words, he replied with a cheery "okay" and continued on his merry way.

…

**Tent G5 **

Ino and Sakura had lain next to each other for some fifteen minutes before either decided to speak.

"We should forget about it," said Ino, sitting up.

Sakura looked up at her with watery eyes and a quivering mouth. "But, but…"

"I know, I know, that was your first kiss, and you didn't want it to be with Sasuke."

The pink-haired girl started wailing, zipping up her sleeping bag to hide her face.

"I… I think I'm ready to go out," said the blonde.

She watched the sleeping bag twist, and she knew Sakura had turned her back towards her. Ino crawled out the tent and looked around.

…

"Yo, what's up?" inquired Tenten as she approached G5's tent.

Naruto was helping Hinata with her packing, while the raven-haired girl was busy… talking to the tent?

"Are you ready yet?" she asked.

"I don't think I'll ever be ready," the tent replied. The tent was sniffing, as if it had cried earlier.

"That was Sakura, right?" asked the bun-wearing sempai. "What's going on?"

Naruto shrugged by means of reply, while his girlfriend gave the older girl a worried look. Hinata waved her closer and whispered into her ear the events that had occurred last night.

Tenten shrieked, throwing a hand over her mouth to cut it short.

Hinata waved closer again and continued with the report.

"No way, no way," the brown-haired girl murmured in utter disbelief.

"Yes way," commented Naruto.

Tenten looked around and spotted Sai a few meters away, conversing with… Ino? She gawked at them, shocked. "No way," she repeated, noticing that Sai was smiling the usual way, while Ino looked a little distant.

"Sort of as unbelievable as you and Neji being friends again," remarked Naruto, the grin on his face so wide Tenten would have gladly punched his teeth out if Hinata wasn't looking. "And practicing those carries and all." She didn't like the tone of his voice either. Was he implying something?

"Shut up," she demanded. "Anyway…" She squatted in front of the tent entrance, her hand reaching for the zipper. But it snagged just as she was about to pull it down.

"Don't come in. It's locked."

"It's me, Tenten," said the sempai. "Let me in. Let's talk."

"We're already talking," the tent sniffed.

The brunette felt a vein pulsing on her temples. Seems like she needed to use some force. She was about ready to rip the tent open when another voice interrupted her.

"Teeenteeeen…"

The said girl tensed, her blood running cold. Not _her_. She got up, turning around stiffly. "H-hello, Temari-san."

The look on the blonde's face was even more condescending than she had tried to prepare herself for. Already, the brunette could feel the blush of embarrassment coloring her face.

"Saw your group performing the carries earlier," started Temari as she approached, and Tenten felt the blush intensify. "You and your partner looked real close."

Already, Naruto's face was mirroring the ex-council president's.

"Don't say anything more!" shouted Tenten.

"Hate to tell ya, sweetie," said Temari, "but I saw that coming right from the start."

Tenten shrieked again, covering her tomato-red face with her hands. She never did listen.

…

**BG5 Area**

"It's right about time to go now," Kakashi announced as he approached BG5's tents, dragging a sullen Karin behind him. He dropped her near the B5 tent, where the boys were packing their backpacks and said, "Suigetsu, do me a favor and watch after this girl. You're her buddy after all."

"Sure, sure," he cheerfully replied without even looking away from his packing. She fell in a heap and continued sulking.

As the silver-haired sensei neared G5's tent, an interesting sight caught him by surprise. There was Tenten and Temari dragging Sakura out of her hiding place by force. She was no longer crying, but she was struggling to break free. Naruto and Hinata were talking her into cooperating.

"Yo," the instructor greeted as he approached them.

Upon seeing him, the pink-haired girl struggled even harder to get back into the tent.

"Tenten-chan, Temari-chan," Kakashi practically sang, "would you like some boys to help you out? Like, maybe, Sasuke?"

His words worked like magic; Sakura straightened out, saying she was fine now and ready to go. The two sempai gave her a disbelieving look before departing to get ready for the trek.

Soon, the whole camp was ready to get moving, and the students, some more reluctant than others, went and joined their buddies in the line-up. Instructors headed the march, followed by BG1, BG2 and so on, and BG6 and another set of instructors rounding up the back.

Sakura made an effort to stick with Ino, who, despite having a confused air about her, tried her best to help her friend out. Meanwhile, Naruto helped out by jabbering with Sasuke, distracting his attention away from the pink-haired girl. And though Suigetsu had not intended to aid them, he too was chatting nonsense with Sai. The zombie-Karin followed behind her partner, her wrist tied to some rope hanging off Suigetsu's backpack (tied by Kakashi-sensei himself, by a sudden stroke of genius). Twice she walked away from the path, and twice, the rope held her firm and pulled her back on the right track.

After an hour, the campers were already begging and whining to go back. Kakashi cheerfully reminded them that the way back was just as arduous. Some teared up at the announcement. They stopped at a stream at one point and met it a couple more times at different points throughout the journey. At times, they had to crawl up very steep inclines, sometimes running down steep slopes just so they wouldn't slip down it, sometimes passing on hazardous, narrow paths by the edge of a ravine, and at one point, a few fallen, giant logs made some sort of obstacle course for them to climb over and crawl under. They kept going for another hour, and another, and another, until they were four hours in. After the fourth hour, they stopped at a clearing, one side of which rose up steeply into a ninety degree angle. They slumped down, breathing heavily and thankful that the death march was over. After a few minutes of rest, they unpacked lunch, food they had prepared by themselves (rice cakes were the food of the hour; they were easy to make and anything more complicated was beyond most of the students' cooking capabilities), and suspiciously eyed their teachers, who were heading up a path that led to the top of the steep incline.

It was only when they saw the teachers draping rope down the cliff that they understood what was going on. The incline was smooth rock. They weren't climbing, oh no. They were rappelling! Their fears were confirmed when Kakashi waved at them from the top as he strapped his makeshift harness to some metal devices – which would later be introduced as the carabineer and descender – and attached it to the dangling rope, which was knotted tightly on some tree and draped over a thick tree branch overhanging the cliff. The students held their breaths as they watched the silver-haired man step to the cliff edge, turn his back towards them and lean back until his legs were almost parallel to the ground. His right hand held firm the rope a feet down the metal devices, holding it up and it was later explained that doing this controlled the breaking and descent. He walked down a few steps before suddenly holding his arm higher, letting the rope loose, and he zipped down towards the ground – some thirty to forty feet from the top – in a single leap.

"He's showing off," Kurenai remarked with a frown as the students around her gasped in awe.

"And that, boys and girls," announced Kakashi when he faced them, "is rappelling!" He bowed like a magician after a magic trick, and the campers clapped and cheered. A booming voice suddenly interrupted them from the top of the cliff.

"Introducing the lizard rappel!" It was Gai-sensei. Not to be outshined, he stood at the edge, facing them, another rope strapped to his back. A novelty look of extreme concentration fell on his face. He released a length of rope and didn't stop until he was face to face with the wall.

"He's not going down like that, is he?" someone gasped, loud enough for Kakashi to hear.

The silver-haired man had a look of disdain on his face as he slipped the "system" – made up of the two metal devices – from the rope. "Oh, believe me," he muttered, "he will."

And just like that, Gai rappelled down the cliff in that position, like a lizard scaling down a wall. When his head almost touched the ground, he flipped upright, which didn't even seem like the proper way to dismount. Nonetheless, the students, impressed, clapped for him.

Anko, standing at the top, was glaring down at him with a vengeance. "Gai, I was supposed to go ahead of you!" she screamed. Without much further ado, she started out facing the cliff, releasing the rope till she was parallel to the ground. She continued glaring at them as she walked, almost ran, down the cliff. Nearing the ground, she artfully released some slack and her feet touched down without much difficulty.

She glared at the campers, and they too cheered, as if their lives depended on it.

Already, some were anxious to try it out.

If Karin wasn't so busy sulking, she would have remembered how she had mastered rappelling at the early age of ten and would have gladly showed off her skills. Instead, she sat dazed on the rough grass, not even noticing that she was sitting on a few rocks and a huge, bleached and empty snail shell that broke under her weight. She nibbled absentmindedly on a rice cake, which Suigetsu had thrust into her hands just as absentmindedly. He was gone now, currently bugging the teachers to teach him how to rappel along with the sensationally excited Tobi.

Earlier on, she had bumped into a tree once, tripped over a jutting tree root half a dozen times, slipped a couple of times on a steep slope and had a twig slap her in the face too many times to even count. She was beyond noticing though, and Suigetsu didn't even feel her trip or slip. He just kept on going, dragging her along. When she did slip on the slopes, he grabbed her arm like it was just the handle of another bag and pulled her up. Not that either of them remembered.

She idly looked at a bruises forming on her calves and knees and wondered half-heartedly where the hell she got them.

…

Sakura watched as Naruto helpfully led Sai and Sasuke away to learn the rappel. The three boys were now somewhere at the top with the rest of the interested crowd, learning about belayers, safety, commands, breaking, locking, etcetera. The lessons were optional, since they didn't have time (or the necessary wall back at the camp site) for further lessons.

She looked at her cabinmates, who sat around her on the itchy grass, half-full bottles of water and bento boxes littered around them. Hinata waved up to the cliff edge, probably at her boyfriend. Karin was still in a trance-like state, nibbling on the same rice cake she'd been nibbling on for the last fifteen minutes. Ino, sitting a little ways off, was cleaning the dirt from under nails.

Looking at her friend, Sakura felt betrayed. She really needed a friend right now, but what if Ino was now too busy to help her out? She got up and approached her. "Ino," she said, sitting next to her. The blonde looked at her, a reserved expression on her face.

"So…" continued the pink-haired girl.

"So…" echoed the other girl.

"…About you and Sai…"

"…Yeah, what about us…?"

"So, I was just wondering." She hesitated. "So did you get back together… or…?"

At that, Ino laughed like she hadn't laughed in a long, long time.

The laughter stung Sakura. What was that supposed to mean?

"What the hell?" said Ino between guffaws. "No way."

"What? Wait, you're confusing me…"

"It's simple really. I just apologized this morning. You know, for everything that's happened."

"Say what?"

"So now we're friends… I guess if you can call us that."

"Friends…" repeated Sakura, bewildered by the thought. After a while of staring at each other, Sakura asked, "So you're not getting back together?"

"I dunno. Maybe. Maybe not."

"He kissed you last night!"

"Something I'm going to get back at him for."

They watched as the more enthusiastic campers finally start descending for the first time. Four ropes hung down the cliff face and four teachers each handled one of the ropes at the bottom. Sakura didn't know it then, but the ones handling the rope were called belayers, as they were also called in wall-climbing. The first batch was made up of Tobi, Naruto, Suigetsu and Yahiko. They were in the same position Kakashi had used earlier, but they were walking instead of leaping (the standard rappel; the fade-away is a variation which includes leaping to cover more distance). They started out slowly, but once they got the hang of it, they started gaining momentum and sped up. At some point, they tried the fade-away. Their leaps were awkward at first, but soon enough they were leaping longer lengths. They couldn't try out the fade-away too much though, because they landed soon enough and had to make way for the next group.

They removed the systems and tied them on the rope together with the slings they used as makeshift harnesses. The ropes were pulled back up so the next set of campers could use them.

Naruto waved before he headed back up with the others, hoping for another chance down the cliff.

Overall, rappelling proved more nerve-racking than it was physically demanding. Any sweat incurred from the activity was due more to nerves than physical exertion. After the second try though, the campers had developed nerves of steel and barely broke a sweat as they descended.

When the willing were done playing around, some rest time was allowed before the instructors finally started commanding everyone to get ready for the trek back. Another night would be spent in the tents, but before they could return to the safety of the camp site, there was the four hour return trek they needed to worry about.

The bags were packed and the trash gathered, and soon enough (which was too soon in the students' opinion), they were on their way back to camp. The estimated time of arrival back to the tents was just before dark.

…

"Are we there yet?" groaned the campers for the nth time. Rest or no rest, the trip back was no easier, considering that their bodies were already sore from the earlier hike.

"We're thirty minutes away from camp," announced Kakashi from the head of the line. "Count off, everyone!"

"One," said Yahiko, from B1, who was first in line.

"Two," followed Konan, his buddy for the trip.

Behind them, the count off continued.

"Thirty-seven!" shouted Suigetsu, and when Karin didn't respond, he added, "Thirty-eight!"

BG6 counted off, and Lee, the last camper in line, counted off as forty-six.

"That can't be," said Gai-sensei, who, along with Anko, Iruka and Shizune, made up the second set of instructors that made up the end of the line.

"Two campers are missing," said Shizune, Anko's string of profanities proliferating in the background.

"Forty-six!" shouted Iruka-sensei. "Two are missing! Pass it back!"

Soon enough, the word got back to Kakashi-sensei that Sasuke and Sakura were missing. Oddly enough, this seemed to have been good news for him. "Okay, let's head back to camp. We can't let the rest of students loose now, can we? Better not lose any more of them."

And with an impish glint in his eye, he led the caravan back to the tents.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **IMPORTANTQUESTION: are you allowed to repost something you already posted in FFNet after erasing it? I compiled oneshots in MBF, but I want to separate them and repost them as individual one shots. Is that allowed? Thanks!

**Side rant:** Read Wolf Guy – Ookami ga Monshou by Yoshiaki Tobata and Yuki Yugo. It's R18 though, but it's so freaking awesome. Brought to you by the creators of Akumetsu (also R18 and freakishly awesome), the art is jaw-dropping and effective, and the story is just so raw and dark, and I find Inugami cute. I also find Suigestu and Kisame cute, so don't expect some cutie pretty boy. Oh, and it's Ookami ga Monshou or Wolfen Crest, so don't go read the other Wolf Guy that's hentai. Idk what the hentai one is, but if you're not into that, best avoid "other" Wolf Guys.

**Side notes:**

(1) A sempai in the dorm warned me that during the CWTS camp, "the only thing that won't be covered in mud will be your teeth." Well, weren't we lucky enough that there was a drought when we went to camp? We lived off tuna-spaghetti and bread, and we only managed to eat rice (the staple food in this country) and meat for one meal lol. Our egg salad went bad hehe. We had an arduous trek up Mt. Makiling for hours on end during the first day (after an afternoon of travel and the first night sleeping on rocks) with a group of Korean kids who joined the camp. The trek took up the _whole day_. The littlest of our foreign guests (a small, chubby, cute boy) fell a lot and got awfully tired, but at the end of the day, he still managed to smile for the camera when some local girls approached him for pics lol. The next day, we spent the morning in an orienteering contest, as if we weren't already tired and sore enough. I was in a bad mood when the boys wouldn't listen to me (coz duh, I knew I was right), and when it came to my expertise, knot-tying, they had me and some others excused coz our accessory cords were either cut up for the ascending or forgotten. (_Excuse me_, I didn't forget my damn cord. And duh, I've even practiced with shorter ropes.) The afternoon was spent on a swimming test where you had to cross the pool and back. I was up for it, but my period came at a very inopportune time. I was pretty confident I could do it too, while even the boys did horribly. Darn.

That night was spent in karaoke (not with spin the bottle lol), but some junior instructors were crazy enough to bring alcohol (coz no one was mature enough to reprimand them, gr), and a couple of people sung drunk. One drunk guy sang a song which loosely translates to "Come on, let's drink", while this girl who didn't sound drunk gave a sexy dance on a chair (the boys said that if she was even sexy to begin with, they wouldn't have been laughing so hard and walking away from the general direction of the stage; they also insisted she was drunk). On the way home, my idiotic groupmates made a stupid fuss about the seating arrangement in the bus and they later drank shots (while still in the bus). I think one of them got sick. I stayed away from them and tried to sleep. Overall, it was fun when I wasn't pissed off at the boys or the girls or the drinking.

(2) So yeah, most of the info I present here I learned from my CWTS class or PE classes from previous years. The kayaking, I presented no additional information coz I know zilch about it. Fishing, I knew a tinny bit from the anime Grander Musashi. **Rappelling** is also called **abseiling** and most of the terminology I used here I got from my CWTS lessons. They never taught us the lizard though. Sigh.

(3) Junji Ito is my fave horror mangaka. Twisted stories, very, very visual illustrations, and such gross-tastic content that sometimes I get a knot in my stomach for a few days. He's never made me puke, but I almost gagged when I was stupid enough to read an extremely graphic scene while eating something that freakishly resembled whatever it was that was grossing me out. Lol. Also, some of his works leave you with a WTF impression afterwards when you don't know what the hell just happened or why it did happen. I think he's supposed to be some sort of horror manga king or something. Some of his works have made it to the big screen. Whatever the case may be, I love his works. Except for the Tomie series. I don't like the main character Tomie. Everyone wants to kill her, and in the end, you wanna kill her too. If his goal was indeed to make the readers feel the same urge to murder her as the characters, it was well accomplished. And heartbroken zombies? That's the Lovesick Dead series. Check it out sometime.

**Nect Time: **_"Don't touch me," said Sakura, her face flushing from the skin contact, thoughts of last night's events flashing through her mind. She reeled away from him… and right into…_


	31. Entry 27: Lost

**The Difference between Boys and Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**A/N:** Been some time eh? Sorry bout that. Got engrossed playing Pet Society and reading Katekyo Hitman Reborn over our summer break. Yamamoto… Gokudera… Collonello… Hibari… Mukuro… And then school started, and I tried paying attention in class. I used to write fan fiction in class, so now my fanfic have been put aside for studies (ya right). Anywho, here we go…

**CHAPTER 27 – Lost**

**DAY 8**

The campers and their instructors arrived at the temporary camp site, minus a certain couple. The sun was nearing the horizon, so the teachers had the students settle down while they discussed the search party.

The kids were back at their tents, mulling over the strange disappearance.

"Sasuke-teme!" growled Naruto, stewing over the fact that if Sakura had gotten lost on her own, she would have had better chances of surviving.

"Weren't they with you guys?" Ino asked Shikamaru, who replied with a shrug.

"I didn't see them when we caught up," said Tenten. "I assumed they were ahead in your group."

The blonde swallowed a guilty lump in her throat.

From the other side of the tents, they could hear Mikan-sempai saying, "Has anyone seen my hair tie?"

**Some time ago – What really happened**

Sakura was not at all comfortable the way they were heading back to camp. Sasuke was exuding a smugness, though not visible on his person, that anyone in as much as a ten feet radius could feel. And the restricted space the path provided didn't help; he always seemed a little too close for her comfort – and for his own good.

If it wasn't for Naruto, who was occupying Sasuke's attention with some pointless bickering, she didn't know what she would have done. Her thoughts kept lingering on that pointy knife Kakashi-sensei had had her carry in her pack for the trek, in case of ropes or vines that needed cutting. She tried to convince herself she would never go as far as using such a dangerous thing on him, but who was she kidding?

She sighed again for the nth time, glaring at her raven-haired partner as she trudged through the overgrown weeds. What she didn't see was a jutting root, hidden in the grass, and she was unfortunate enough to have tripped over it, falling into the one thing she had been glaring at all day. She shrieked, more from the sudden contact with _him_ rather than the surprise of falling.

He turned his head in surprise and caught her eye contact.

She tumbled backwards, away from him, once again tripping on that same root. A hand shot out and grabbed her arm, preventing her from falling over. Of course, it just had to be _him_. Again.

"L-let go," she grumbled, pulling away despite the fact that it weren't for his arm, she could fall over anytime.

Sasuke raised both eyebrows, looking as if he were going to respond, but then, Naruto grabbed her other arm and helped her back to her feet.

"Whoa, careful there," said the blond teen, simultaneously returning to the line with his best friend in tow. She seethed at the fact that he still looked at her as Naruto led him away, looking as if he still had something to say. She couldn't thank Naruto enough when he finally looked away.

Well, that was the end of any unwanted confrontations… for the moment anyway. Of course, that piece of serenity didn't last very long.

They were only a few minutes into the trek when the students realized they were using a different route on their way back, something the teachers failed to inform them beforehand. After trudging through a steadily inclining path, they found themselves on a narrow strip of dirt hugging the side of a steep hill, trees entangled with vines and sparse shrubs lining one side. The other side however, had a few narrow trees that looked like they had trouble keeping their hold on the side of the path. Behind these, one could look down the hill and see the tops of the trees that grew on lower land. The rest of the slope was disguised under a thick layer of overgrowth. If you rolled down there, you'd be lost in a sea of green, invisible from above.

This was where the true nature of the partnership came into play. Buddies who were reluctant to help each other earlier learned to play extra nice. Even Suigetsu, who could care less for his buddy's well-being, helped her out whenever the path provided little stable footing. This sudden goodwill, however, was due to the fact that they were still tied together, and a little slip in her case would result in both of them taking a tumble down into oblivion. But at this point, Karin was regaining some sense of self and was getting uncooperative. She remembered she was supposed to be mad at something or someone, but if she were mad, it may as well be at Suigetsu, right? If, say, there was something like an incline with a loose layer of dirt on it, he'd offer a hand to help her up, she'd reject it, she'd slip a little on the dirt, and he'd end up helping her up anyway. Imagine that in a continuous cycle.

Sakura was embarrassed to admit that she needed some help from her partner at some points, but she was glad for Ino, who was always ready to fill the responsibility.

The convoy, made up 57 people, was quite long, and if the front of the pack slowed down, the rest of the group slowed to a stop. Standing still on the uneven surface with nothing but a stick for a tree between you and a steep incline that could send you rolling a good long distance was hard enough; imagine having to find a seat to rest those aching feet. The kids started getting creative, some sitting on the huge vine-like tree limbs that seemed to hang from one tree or another, some using tying ropes (the ones they used for the knot-tying) between the more stable tree trunks to make makeshift seats. And if you were unlucky enough to have gotten stuck in the middle of an incline with no space to move forward or backward, someone from the top would have to lock arms with you just so you could keep your balance.

Those complications aside, this trek was just about as bad as the first one – tiring and unexciting. Even some of the teachers were already praying that they finally made it back.

An hour that felt like half a dozen passed, and if there had been any discomfort earlier on, Sakura had forgotten all about it, her mind preoccupied by the ache of her muscles and the rawness of her feet. Sasuke was just this person in front of her, and for reasons she could not remember, she had difficulty keeping up with him. The group must have sped up.

At length, her strength gave way, and she had to stop to take a breather. She squatted down, a hand holding on to a nearby tree trunk.

"Are you okay?" asked Ino as she came up beside her.

Sakura held up a hand, saying, "Yeah, I'm… huff… fine…"

"Just stay here, okay?"

Sakura watched Ino and Sai walk past her. She sat there a while, waiting for the BG6 to pass. Earlier on, there had been times when some students lagged behind, leaving a gap in the line. Usually, the paths were clear and straight-forward, so as long as those ahead stopped to wait, the group would be rejoined and that would be that. A group of instructors led the group, while another team stayed at the tail, to make sure no one got left behind.

But as she waited there, she realized that BG6 may have been lagging as well. She got up, having regained some lost strength, and headed down the path, which wasn't the best place to be stuck in. The dirt trail curved from there, and when she rounded the bend, she saw a figure up ahead. _Perhaps the line had stopped just ahead_, she though.

As she approached that person, she was dismayed to find out that he was alone and was even more so when she recognized him. Sasuke. He was facing away from her, failing to look nonchalant. He was obviously waiting for her.

She felt her cheeks burn. He must be up to something! It was enough that he had embarrassed her the previous night; he must be planning to add insult to injury.

Well, she wanted nothing to do with that. She stomped on, passing him. She noticed his head turn as she passed, but she ignored him, as if he were nothing more than one of those saplings that clung to the dirt. She could hear his footsteps behind her, and this made her walk even faster.

At some point, they came upon a small yet clear path that ran down the slope, forming a fork with the continuing dirt trail they were already on. The downhill route went through quite some undergrowth and disappeared between some thick trees. Sakura, overjoyed by the prospect of heading back down to level ground, was just about to race through it when Sasuke grabbed her arm, pulling her back on the path.

She shrieked as only someone from a horror movie could, thrashing her arm about until he let go. She stepped back as far as she could.

"What was that for?" she screamed, not losing the momentum in her voice.

"That's not the way," he replied, keeping his voice cool despite the fact that she could see his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. She couldn't tell if he was irked by her shriek, her violent reaction, the tone of her voice when she spoke, or her as a whole, but she was glad to have irritated him. "We're supposed to follow this path," he continued.

"Says who?" she threw back. "Did you see where they passed? The other path is the more obvious route."

She looked down the wayward path and a splash of color caught her eye. She dashed down to get it before he could stop her.

"See?" She held up a hair tie. "Someone has been down this way."

"That doesn't prove anything," he replied, looking as if she'd just said the stupidest thing.

Sakura didn't have the energy to glare at him. She'd done it too many times it now seemed pointless. Instead, she turned around and started marching down the divergent trail. At this point, she didn't really care if she was going the right way, as long as she got rid of him. Hearing the crunch of dried leaves and twigs behind her, she knew that he was following close behind. She sped down the incline, determined to lose him, if that were even possible.

Strangely, the path got darker as she sped on. Of course, the trail led deeper into the wood, and that was only to be expected. Only, were they really supposed to go deeper?

She picked up speed, only because it was getting steeper, and instinct told her that she better slow down before something she crashed into something. She skidded to a stop by grabbing on a tree trunk, and she felt a chill as she looked down at her feet. Just a step or two further would have sent her down a steep incline that would have been impossible to climb up. It even looked like a wall. And if it was dark where she was right now, it was even darker _down there_. The trees overhead were thick and overgrown, providing little light.

Perhaps this wasn't such a bright idea after all, even if it was just to get away from Sasuke. She turned around, and speak of the devil, there he was, just skidding to a stop, an annoyed look on his face.

"Done running away?" he asked, looking as if he were determined to drag her back on the right trail if he had to. He moved as if to grab her arm, saying, "Let's get back –"

"Don't touch me," she said, her face flushing from the skin contact, thoughts of last night's events flashing through her mind. She reeled away from him… and right into the darkness behind her.

It was a good thing Sasuke had good reflexes, because he instinctively shot out to grab her. It was probably also a good idea to grab unto one of the trees beside him. Unfortunately, instinct usually didn't coincide with logic, and he lost his footing on the already unstable trail. And they fell.

**Back on the dirt path**, BG6 and the instructors just arrived where the path split.

"There's a trail down there," remarked Temari, seeing the downhill path Sakura and Sasuke had taken.

Shikamaru looked up the slope and said, "Looks like some sort of boulder must have rolled down." Higher up was a circular indent that still had loose packs of dirt falling off it. The boulder must have knocked down a few young trees on the higher slope, because where there was supposed to be a similar path up the slope was only an area strewn with crushed leaves and fallen tree limbs. "Those ahead of us must have cleaned up the way, dumping the debris to this side."

"Can't believe we're so far behind," grumbled Tayuya, coming up behind them. "Why did you even have to eat those strange mushrooms?"

Chouji, being helped along by Lee, managed a response. "I was tired, and I was hungry!" He made a face, as if he were suddenly resisting the urge to puke.

"There's no need to worry!" exclaimed Lee. "I will carry you all the way back to camp if I have to!"

"Looks like we have all the energy here!" laughed Gai-sensei.

The rest of the group gave the two strange looks. If anyone had energy, it would be no other than Gai and Lee.

It was then that Shikamaru spotted the hair tie Sakura had dropped on her way down. Things usually get left behind when campers don't pay attention, so it couldn't be helped. Heaving a sigh, he jogged down to pick it up. Footprints and a little ash were the only things they were allowed to leave behind. Can't just leave something like that down there.

Pocketing the item, he turned to rejoin the group. He looked down the boulder path over his shoulder, a strange feeling of dread falling over him.

"Oi, Shikamaru! Hurry it up!" his partner called.

He sighed for the nth time at how bossy she was. Can't make a girl wait now, can we? He headed back up, forgetting about that ominous feeling he'd just felt. Whatever it was that was down there, it was better off left alone.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Are you allowed to repost something you already posted in FFNet? I compiled oneshots in _My Best Friend the Writer's Block_, but I want to separate them and repost them as individual one shots. Is that allowed? I plan to erase MBF in the process. Thanks!

**Side note: **Ever seen those weird thick vine-like tree limbs that seem to hang between trunks like telephone wires? The ones I saw while hiking up and down Mt. Makiling came from one tree and climbed up another one. Limbs that grow sideways instead of upwards? Well, phototropism explains why plants grow upward – they grow towards the light. Maybe in a thick overgrown rainforest, trees get extra creative and think, "hey, I can't get light through the thick branches above me; I think I'll send a limb over there where there's some light and maybe climb up some unsuspecting neighbor." It's a strangely disturbing thought.

Here's a little something I wanna share from Sponge Bob Square Pants. Mr Krabs tries to get back the hat he'd sold to Sponge Bob.

**Mr. Krabs:** That hat makes you look like a girl.

**Sponge Bob:** Am I a _pretty_ girl?

**Next time on DBG: **"It was dark, you're too close, and I don't want you to touch me – again!" she shouted.

He took a step closer, leaning his head close to hers. "You mean like this?"

_Yipes. It looks like Sakura's gonna need that knife now._


	32. Entry 28: Stuck

**The Difference between Boys and Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**CHAPTER 28 – Stuck**

Sakura and Ino were simple-minded six-year-old girls when they were dazzled by Sasuke's charming good looks – the white, smooth skin, the dark raven hair and the pretty onyx eyes, all traits they would have envied had they belonged to another girl.

Over time, the criteria grew. He was also brilliant, excelling both in academics and sports. He was, in fact, the only person who could surpass her academically without breaking as much as a sweat. She would study and study, yet she would still be unable to match him. Over breaks, he could be seen reading one of Naruto's FS manga or some random literary piece that wasn't even in the curriculum. Sometimes he played football or rough-housed with his blond friend as if he had all the time to waste on such trivialities. But he'd still ace the quiz or memorize the assigned piece for speech class the next day. He was something she'd strived to be, and he looked good doing what he did.

He and Naruto had been "friends" since she could remember. It wasn't like she knew when the unlikely friendship started, but after a while, despite their contrasting qualities and extreme behavior towards each other, there was no doubt in her mind that they went beyond being friends, almost being brothers.

Naruto used to have an intense crush on her, and she tried to use this to her advantage to try and get close to Sasuke. She would approach Naruto to talk when the two boys were together, but Sasuke never paid her any attention. Over time, however, she eventually came to like the blond boy as a friend, and there came a point where Sasuke was no longer the reason to approach them. She had interpreted it as finally getting over him, losing that need to be around him or that urge to seek his attention and approval.

But the three of them spending time together didn't do much to cement any lasting friendship with Sasuke (as she later realized how there was a lack of any sort of friendship between them after all). The boys liked going to the arcade, manga cafes, sports shops and the local field where everyone went to play ball. She would come along, but she couldn't keep up with them. She'd never played video games past Ms. Pacman, expressed any interest in football (she preferred volleyball) or knew anything about Fang. A usual day out usually involved feeling drained and left out, not even understanding what they'd just done.

Usually, cliques their age went for karaoke or goukons, but _no_, the two boys would rather hang out together or crash at Kiba's place for his FS figure collection or hang out at Sai's studio to watch him paint. Goukon? Group dates? Nah, they didn't do any of that. She could understand why Sasuke wouldn't go (he was too good for any girl, after all), but Naruto? After his feelings for her sizzled down, he never did pursue another girl (what? Konoha didn't have any pretty girls for him?), though at some point, some of their friends sat him down to spell it out for him that Hinata had a crush on him (which explained the Valentine's day chocolates, though he could never really wrap his head around the idea until someone explained it to him). Considering the poor boy wasn't good with girls, it was only understandable it took him this long to even make a move.

And Sasuke…? He was indifferent towards her. It seemed to him that they were only "friends" because they were hanging out with the same person. Naruto had been the only one who could truly make him open up, and it was only with the blond boy that he showed any semblance of any actual friendship. Scoffing, smirking, snarking, all these came natural with Naruto. With others, he was less vocal, more stoic. And Sakura used to be included in that "others".

Then there came a time that he started paying her attention, not quite unlike the way he acted towards Naruto. At first, she was flattered, traces of her feelings for him causing butterflies in her stomach. But of course, they were "friends", so she shook these strange feelings away, thankful that he perhaps was starting to see her as a friend, as an equal. But beneath the pretty façade and dazzling abilities, Sasuke was, as the cherry blossom namesake realized a little too late, a big _bully_. She thought she had gained equal footing in this relation with him as Naruto had, but she was further from the truth than she had expected.

Naruto was not the type to be bullied. Because, face it, he was on equal grounds with Sasuke. The blond boy was not as brilliant, but he made it up with wit and charisma. He hated to study, but when pressured (like when his mom demanded better grades), he would do fairly well. Sakura and Sasuke were usually the ones vying for the top seats, but once, when they were taking up an era in Japanese history that particularly interested Naruto, neither of them could beat his scores. When it came down to crunch time, Sasuke would suggest a study group (which ended up a one-sided Spartan training that involved Naruto getting a whack on the head for every bad performance), but she was never invited (though occasionally, Sai, Kiba and a few others were). They were the best combo in football, and well, she couldn't even kick a ball if her life depended on it. And popularity? Sure, Sasuke had loads of fan girls, but Naruto's friends with pretty much everyone. He would have probably had more admirers if it wasn't so glaringly obvious Hinata liked him, and there was just something about that girl that you wouldn't want to get in her way, y'know?

Naruto could also fight if needed, and as an added bonus, he also fought dirty. He knew more things about Sasuke than even his parents did (remember Scrappy aka Itakkun?), and he was not above using that knowledge. The blond also had the tendency to drag Sasuke around and force him to fraternize with their classmates. Sasuke was not in control of Naruto in any way whatsoever. So sometimes he could mess with his best friend's head, but payback was always in order, and they knew it.

It was different for Sakura. It took a lot more effort to fight back, she now realized. Sometimes thoughts of retreat would cross her mind, but damn, Sasuke was a fast runner.

**DAY 8**

Sakura felt the impact before she realized she had fallen. The sudden rush that came with descending had her disoriented. What happened again? She remembered heading down the downhill trail, running away from Sasuke. There was a sudden decline, so she had stopped. But he came up behind her, and the close proximity panicked her. She must have fallen. Hard.

She tried moving her body. Nothing seemed to be broken, and it didn't hurt as much as she had expected, thank god, though her arm felt heavy like there was something on it. Something must have fallen on her too. The single thought in her mind as she lay on the grass was that it was Sasuke's fault _again_. He was like a plague. Misery befell her whenever he was around, whether he meant it or not. And now she was down here, probably stuck and with nowhere to go but deeper down that abyss of despair.

And speaking of the rat, where was he anyway? She decided to get up and give him a good cussing, even if she was down there. She picked up whatever it was that was on her arm and almost shrieked when she realized it was a hand. _His_ hand? She threw it aside, sitting herself up the same time she heard a groaning noise as the earth moved under her. Realizing that she was literally on top of him, she scrambled to her feet, keeping herself a good distance from him.

"What the hell are you doing down here?" she shouted at him as he remained on the ground, a hand over his right shoulder.

"I think I dislocated my shoulder," he groaned.

"What?"

"I dislocated my shoulder!"

"How the hell did you dislocate your shoulder anyway?"

"I don't know! Maybe because you _landed _on me!"

It took a moment before Sakura put two and two together. She wanted to continue being mad at him, that she did, but she couldn't help feeling what could only be described as guilt wash over. She fell on him! And now he has a dislocated shoulder!

"At least a dislocated shoulder's the only thing I think I have," he mumbled, rolling to one side and propping himself up with the good arm, as if to sit up straight.

"What the hell are you doing!" she shouted, rushing over to help him up. "Don't move too much!"

She would have loved hearing them another time, but his grunts of pain just made her feel even guiltier. _She_ was the one who fell. What was he even doing _down_ here? And what was he doing _under_ her?

He slung his arm from his backpack strap, and she helped him ease it off the injured arm as well.

"Okay, so your humerus slipped out of the glenohumera –" She let her voice trail off when she saw the incredulous look on his face. "So I'll leave the lecture for later. What we need to do is pop it back in."

"Like I'll let you do that," he scoffed, and she tapped him on the shoulder, making yowl in pain.

"Listen, I have a Red Cross membership, and I've helped take care of things like this at the volunteer clinic," she explained.

"I'm not convinced," he said, and Sakura contemplated tugging on his arm just to prove a point.

"Let me fix your shoulder," she insisted, "_or_ you'll be in pain until someone finds us and gets us out of here. Do you remember how _long_ it takes just to get back to base camp?"

He grimaced, and disappointed as she was that he didn't react as she had expected, she reveled in her first victory against him.

**Back at camp, **the last rays of the day were just about to disappear behind the horizon. Near BG5's tent, a group of students gathered.

"So who's with me?" asked Naruto, pumping an arm in the air.

"I am!" exclaimed Lee, jumping to his feet as he mimicked his blond friend's arm movement.

Naruto glared at the remainder of his assembled friends.

"Do we have to do this?" grumbled Shikamaru. "The teachers are discussing what actions to take. Surely, they can figure out a better plan to get them back. Sneaking out to find them ourselves is totally uncalled for."

"Duh-huh," answered Naruto. "If the teachers don't go look for 'em NOW, we may end up with a murder in our hands."

"That doesn't make sense," said Neji as the others mumbled to themselves.

The blond teen gave them a signature Yamato-sensei look of horror, something his friends thought more comical than scary. "Kakashi-sensei had Sakura carry the knife with her."

That statement seemed to have the desired effect he was after, as his friends gave him mixed looks of horror and disbelief.

"This is extremely serious," said Lee, looking thoughtful.

"I don't buy into that," said Shikamaru, unfazed by Naruto's revelation. "I say we should give them time alone together to talk through their conflict. I highly doubt there'll be any stabbing involved."

"You lie," said the blond boy. "You don't believe that reflection crap! Neither do you believe that blood will not be involved."

The lazy teen grinned in response. "Fine, you caught me. Really, I think there's no better punishment for them than to be stuck together the rest of the night. They really need to learn a lesson or two, you can't argue with that. Besides, I don't think they'll die of a little hunger." A few heads nodded in approval, and it surprised Naruto that he was nodding along as well.

"But regardless of who they are," said Sai, "won't it be reckless to leave a boy and a girl alone like that?"

"We can not allow that!" gasped Lee.

"I don't think we should worry," said Ino. "Not when the girl doesn't think of the guy like that."

"And not when the guy sees the girl as nothing more than some bug he catches and plays with until it dies," quipped Suigetsu. A few faces paled at the truth behind those words. Even Shikamaru couldn't argue with that logic.

"Well, what're we waiting for, huh?" To everyone's surprise, it was a fully-recuperated Karin standing over them, hands akimbo. "We getting them back or not?"

Her aqua-haired nemesis sighed upon seeing her, somewhat disappointed she finally recovered.

"Why would you want to help out?" asked Ino, her turquoise eyes tightening in distrust.

The redhead took a moment to adjust her glasses. "Who here has had any actual wilderness survival training prior to this camp?"

Some exchanged looks, but no one responded.

"Who has any basic knowledge of orienteering, tracking or –"

"We get it, we get it," interrupted Naruto. "None of us know crap about those things. We take it that you do?"

"I do," she replied.

"So you're helping us out just coz you can?" inquired Suigetsu.

"Got any problem with that?"

The aqua-haired athlete smirked in reply, taking her challenge. She scowled at him before sitting down amongst them. "I can help find them, but we'll need to sneak out undetected first. What's the plan?"

Naruto kicked at Shikamaru, and the latter groaned, saying, "This is a pain… but it can't be helped, so I'll think something up."

"Yosh!" cheered the blond teen. "Operation rescue Sasuke and Sakura underway!"

"Oi!" "Shut up, you moron!" "We don't need to alarm the teachers now, do we?"

"I have a question," said Hinata. "What do we do if someone really does get stabbed?"

A dull silence fell on the group.

"Let's bring some bandages," suggested Ino, though she didn't know how to use them even to save herself.

"Yeah, that'll do," said Naruto. "So the plan is…?"

A good distance away, a suspicious Kakashi warily eyed their group.

**Back at the clearing**

"Gee, I never figured you could cuss that loud," said Sakura, just when Sasuke calmed down from all the panting he had to do after that strenuous exercise of the lungs.

"Shut up," he replied, sitting across from her on the other side of the clearing, his back on the wall that doomed them. "If I knew better, you enjoyed that."

The rest of the area was closed off by thick undergrowth and a few oversized trees, their humongous roots big enough to serve as benches. Sakura sat on one of these outcropping roots.

"You wouldn't have screamed so much if you weren't such a baby," she replied. He was right though. She did the procedure properly, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy doing it. She was already lamenting that his moment of weakness was already over. He was never weakest than when he was screaming in pain. Well, that was not going to happen again any time soon, unless she broke his arm again. "You should be thanking me for fixing it."

"You have it backwards," he said, getting up. "Shouldn't _you_ be the one thanking me?"

Not be outdone, she got up, refusing to give him the extra air of authority he got from his height. "I realigned your shoulder!"

"It wouldn't have needed any realigning if you didn't fall on me."

"What? It's not my fault you fell first! I –" Didn't _she_ fall first? Shouldn't _she_ have landed first? Right _under_ him? He was heavier in built, and if he had fallen on her, she would have had more than a measly dislocated shoulder. "S-so you landed before I did." And _she_ landed on him. With all things considered, he _may_ have gotten off with just a few scratches if she hadn't fallen on him. Perhaps she really was the one at fault here.

"Well?" he asked, taking a step closer.

What was she supposed to say? 'Thanks for being unfortunate enough to break my fall?'

"You didn't think I fell under you by some cosmic coincidence now, did you?" he continued, moving forward. Now that she considered it, she didn't think so either.

"W-well, I realigned your shoulder, right?" she asked, taking a step back. "We should be even."

"Even?" he asked, his voice going from smug to smooth, almost relaxed. You know when things are getting bad when the villain starts sounding nice. "Whose fault is it that we're down here anyway?"

He was getting closer, and she was running out of room to back up into. "Well, you were at fault too," she reasoned, "It was dark, you were too close, and I didn't want you to touch me again. So I panicked!"

In a matter of a few strides, he closed the distance between them, leaning his head a bare few inches away from hers. "You mean like this?"

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **This is a strange chapter. I feel possessed by some giddy fan girl. Which I probably already am by now. Should I be ashamed? Anyway, I stopped here not coz I wanted to make you guys suffer more, but because I haven't figured out how to continue yet. The next update may take some time, y'know? So suggestions please!

Also, I took down MBF and reposted some of the one shots individually. So if you're interested in some **SuiKa**, **ShikaTema** and or if you love **Zabuza** like I do, please check them out. Thanks!

**Side note: **

(1) Spartan study training? KHR, YanMega, Wallflower and Akuma to Love Song lol. Number one rebel Gokudera has to teach no-good Tsuna and too-preoccupied-with-baseball Yamamoto. Yankee-looking ace student Chiba has to keep yankee Shinagawa and ex-yankee Adachi awake, coz let's face it, Adachi will sleep through any situation (there was even a study training that involved dangerous ice picks, don't ask!). Kyouhei sacrifices his looks for books, and everyone has to force Sunako to study. And Maria's such a scary tutor lol.

(2) In some cases, there may be complications with dislocated shoulders, but let us assume there aren't any in this case. Why? Because I'd rather have Sakura inflict pain on Sasuke while getting it back in, instead of them waiting around for a damn helicopter to find them first.

(3) Sped through _Yankee-kun to Megane-chan_, _Rave Master_ and _Noblesse_ the past two months (a whole loada yankee boys in there, from Shinagawa to Haru, from Musica to Kagawa, Julia to Adachi; read 'em with FT, and Natsu, Gray and Gazeel just add to the yanki-ness). Unfortunately, no more online Weekly Shounen Jump? I feel like dying! Sob, but hopefully, we still have fan art and fan fiction.

(4) On a different note, I updated my Deviantart account with new art (fangshinobi dot devianart dot com), some of which are Naruto fan art, though there isn't a single SasuSaku in there yet. I added my Tools one shot in there. Please show some love and give my DA a visit. Thankies!


	33. Entry 29: Dirt

**The Difference between Boys and Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**A/N:** I'm alive! And so is DBG! Old readers, thanks for staying! Especially those who pm'ed!

**CHAPTER 29 – Dirt**

"You mean like this?" asked Sasuke, leaning his head over hers, his face mere inches from her face.

And perhaps it shouldn't really surprise anyone that Sakura, whether due to some overpowering urge to get even or perhaps out of instinctive self-preservation, slammed her vast forehead on Sasuke's, knocking him off his feet.

"What the f –" she heard him say, but in her head, she was muttering the same curses. The head butt caught her off guard just as it did him. She seriously didn't consider how much it would hurt when she did it. And it hurt far more than it was worth.

"Why the hell do you always do this?" she screamed.

"What?" he yelled back, a hand clenched over his bruised head. "Let me remind you that _you_ were the one who headbutted me. Did you hit your head so hard you _forgot_?"

"I didn't mean that, wise guy!" Despite the throbbing on her head, she pulled her hand away and tried to give him a solid glare, which would have had looked like one if one of her eyes wasn't still squinting from the pain. "Why do you always torment me?"

"Hell if I know!" he replied. "But I'm sure it's not because I enjoy your head butts."

"Then why? Do you hate me that much?"

Sasuke looked away, the hand hovering over his forehead covering a good portion of his face.

"Silence means yes then?" she asked. To her frustration, she felt her eyes starting to smart.

Silence fell as the two turned to nurse their heads… and a little something else…

…

Meanwhile, back at camp, operation sneak out undetected was under way. The rescue team consisted of Karin (the tracker), Suigetsu (in case someone drowned), Shikamaru (the brains) and Naruto (who insisted to come along despite his uselessness). Others served as lookouts back at the camp, making sure the teachers weren't on to them.

The sun had just set when they decided to slip out. It wasn't dark enough for them to sneak out completely undetected, but any later was out of the question. Karin guided them down the path, retracing their steps.

"Chances are they went down the wrong path while they were separated from us," said Karin.

"And I think I know just where that path is," said Shikamaru. "Do you guys remember that dirt path that had a boulder roll over it?"

"Not really…" said Naruto.

"I have a pretty good hunch they may have strayed down that path instead."

"We better hurry," said Suigetsu. "I don't know what the teachers are planning, but if they plan on hatching a rescue operation, they'd be sure to catch us out here."

…

The sunlight was already fading while the pain on their foreheads eased up, and Sasuke looked up to see a beam of light piercing the darkness. With it, he could see Sakura digging through her backpack, a penlight between her teeth. After a while, she pulled out the large kitchen knife they had used back at the hike. She unsheathed it, the silver metal gleaming menacingly under the beam of her flash light.

"Don't even think about it," he said, when she shot him a glance.

"You're not worth it," she said. She got up, slinging her bag over her shoulder, and approached the edge of the clearing, which was lined with thick trunks, hanging tree limbs and overgrown bushes.

"That's not a machete," she heard him say.

"I'm aware of that fact. I don't think I can last another minute here with you, so I'm going to cut a path through the forest whether you like it or not. Any problem with that?"

He pulled out a length of rope from is pack. "Or we can climb the wall we fell off from."

"Why didn't you –?"

"Well, I dunno, I think I was too busy recuperating from the shoulder you dislodged, the super head butt you gave me, and…"

The pink-haired felt her cheek turn warm. "You deserved both of them," she grumbled, wondering what the 'and' meant.

"Now put away the knife," he said.

…

"This is where the path gets narrow," said Karin, placing a hand over the craggy rock wall that lined one side of the trail.

"The path _gets narrow_ a lot," groaned Shikamaru.

"This is also where it hangs over the river," added the redhead. The soft but familiar sound of rushing waters could be heard beneath them, an all too clear indication that the current was strong, and it would be quite a drop if you'd fallen off the trail.

Suigetsu shot his flashlight's beam down the trail's side, and the beam of light was met by pitch black. He made a backwards whistle. "That's the water, right? Looks like the current's moving pretty fast."

"Damn," said Naruto, hugging the rock wall. "Let's get out of here as quickly as possible. I do _not_ want to fall down there."

"Quite the contrary," said Karin, moving on ahead. "We can't move too carelessly, or we might –" To her surprise, she felt the earth beneath her foot give way, throwing her forward. Amidst her companions' surprised gasps, a hand shot out, catching her by the arm and pulling her back. A few moments later, and they could hear the clods of dirt falling into the river below.

"Hey, watch it," remarked an annoyed Suigetsu, wrenching her hand off his shirt. "Not too close."

Numb from the shock, it took Karin a few moments to realize she'd grabbed onto Suigetsu after he pulled her back to safety. A little too grateful to find anything nasty to say, she murmured a hurried thanks before backing off, only to find his hand still clasped on her arm.

"Yeah, _okay_," the aqua-haired boy said awkwardly, releasing her arm.

"A-anyway," stammered the redhead, readjusting her glasses, "we're going to have to be extra careful."

"Says the girl who almost fell off," said Suigetsu, leaning on a nearby tree trunk.

Karin opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't seem to find any words of defense against that. "Whatever, she grumbled," walking past him.

But the surprises for the night weren't done yet. With a sudden crack, the stick of a tree that Suigetsu was leaning on broke in two. Karin, reacting on instinct, reached out and grabbed him by the wrist. Unfortunately, the weight difference that had helped him pull her back on the trail now pulled both of them down and off the trail. A loud splash followed, indicating that in the very least they wouldn't die from broken spines.

Naruto tensed to jump in, but Shikamaru blocked his way.

"Shikamaru!" yelled the blond. "What the hell!"

"Seriously, man, back off," replied his dark-haired friend. "Did you forget who those two are? They'll be okay."

It took a moment before Naruto replied. "Now that I though about it," he said, scratching his head. "They'd probably be the ones who'll need to save me is I fell in as well."

"If I remember correctly, the trail dips down and hugs the edge of the river," said Shikamaru. "We can bet that would be the best place for them to swim to."

"Well, they better get out of there too," remarked Naruto. "Or we'll have another pair to add to the missing list."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Sorry for the lack of attention! OMG OMG, so sorry! I even promised Ninja-Girl I'd do this over my sem break, but I ended up working on my personal web comic project (link in my profile for whoever gives a damn). It's hard to come by inspiration, y'know, and Sasusaku hasn't been my favorite pairing in a while.

Don't get me wrong. I still strongly support the Sasusaku pairing, but individually, I don't like them anymore. I'm updated with the manga and Sakura has become unlikeable, while Sasuke has gotten… emotastic… or revengetastic… or something… So, yeah, there's been some love lost. I just want to bash their heads together and say, "kiss and make up, dammit!". Ugh, for Naruto, I don't suggest the kissing part with Sasuke. But if you're into that, whatever floats your boat.

**Anyway,** I can't believe I wrote something so corny/cheesy. My brain is dead, sorry. I just wanted to write, "they both fell into the water" and get it over with, but it's so haaaaard to write it down. Bleagh.

Sorry this is short! **But I will try to finish DBG soon!** A little bit more and we're done! YAY! Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated very much!

**Side note: **

Damn dirt paths. Why are they made of [loose] dirt?

Btw, if you're wondering why the river from the previous chapters wasn't as deep or fast. **It's a different river**. It comes from far away, where there was a sudden summer rain, which made it deep and fast-running. There, my fan fic is justified with fridge logic. Lol.


	34. Entry 30: Boy

**The ****Difference between Boys and Girls **by** fang_shinobi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and other related characters, settings and such are strictly under the ownership of _Masashi Kishimoto_-sama. I take no claim of ownership except for the words I have contributed.

**Summary: **Sasuke and Sakura have been chosen by their camp counselors to head the debate on which gender was better. But things get personal when they start a girl-against-boy war that could ruin the whole summer. Watch out for cockroaches, bloodsucking leeches and such. Sasusaku and other pairings…

**A/N:** This fan fic is half dead, but thanks for those who've been trying to revive it.

**CHAPTER ****30 – Boy**

Karin shook her hair, sending drops of chlorinated water flying in every direction. She sat on the edge of the pool, having finally emerged from the water. The class was over twenty minutes ago, and she was tired of waiting in the pool. She ran her fingers through her mop of red hair as she stole a glance at the aqua-haired boy who continued swimming. However, her attempt at being surreptitious was ruined when her fingers snagged in her mane. She'd almost forgotten how frizzy her hair had gotten because of the chlorine.

Her whole class had gone save for the two of them, so aside from the few elderly floating about and the occasional athlete, there was barely anyone who caught her mishap. He too was busy. She could see his pale head of hair coming up for air every couple of minutes. She had no idea what he was doing underwater so often. He was probably diving for pearls for all she knew.

She looked at the shriveled skin of her fingertips, wondering if his looked just as bad. In the last couple of weeks since she'd first met him, she had never once seen him tire of the water. There were so many things she wondered about him. What was his name? Were they the same age? Why was his hair white? Or was it blue? Was it because of all the chlorine? Why does he like the water so much? Was he a fish? A merman?

Lost in thought, she almost fell in the water when she heard the coach's voice.

"Your nanny isn't here yet?" he asked from behind her. He had already thrown on a track suit jacket, a towel thrown over his short hair.

"N-not yet," she replied, inwardly cursing herself for stuttering. "It's not like I'm not allowed to hang around after class." She tried sounding cool and aloof, but she was clearly intimidated by him – the man, at least to her, was huge.

She took this moment to compare the coach to his "nephew". They seemed to contrast in every way – the man was tall, brown-skinned, dark-haired and deathly serious, whereas the boy was (obviously) small, pale, white-haired and easy-going.

"Anyway," she added, changing the subject in hopes of negating any suspicions that she had been examining him, "you don't seem old, yet you're retired. You were a swimming champ, yet you're here training brats in this dinky pool. Is there some sort of reason for that?"

Albeit somewhat taken back by the sudden interrogation, the coach answered with another question. "You're aiming to be number one, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to with anything?"

He stepped closer to the pool, squatting down. He pointed at his "nephew" and said, "He's the reason you won't be achieving that goal."

Flabbergasted, she could only stammer out a barely intelligible, "What?"

"Don't think I haven't noticed," he said. "You've been trying to compete with him."

"What? No way!"

"Then it must be some strange coincidence that you always kick off whenever he does. Though you never can catch up."

Karin looked away, feeling her cheeks warm, and if experience proved right, her face would be right about the same color as her hair right now. She slipped on her ear plugs, slid into the water and pushed off.

She swam hard, away from the coach and his accusations. Competing with him? Couldn't catch up to him? Preposterous. She was her father's daughter. She was a winner. She always got what she wanted. She barely paused to catch her breath on the other side before kicking off again for another lap, pushing herself, feeling the pull of muscle and every breath.

At that point, she couldn't even tell if _he_ was still in the pool. She just swam forward, her eyes focused towards her goal. She did another lap, and another, barely a breath in between.

"Ojou-san," she barely heard over her ear plugs as she took a breath by the poolside. She submerged back into the water before her governess could speak any further. She kicked off, slicing through the water despite the strain in her muscles.

It happened so fast she couldn't make sense of it – she felt a sharp tug within her leg, and before she knew it, she couldn't mover her leg, and she was flailing in the water.

_She felt the water flood into her mouth, __into her nose, down her throat, into her stomach and somewhere into her chest where it hurt. She tried stopping her breath, covering her face with her hands (but that just made her sink). But she needed air – her lips opened without her willing them to, her arms flailed about searching for a way out. She couldn't see, her eyes stung. The water moved around her, tugging her, swallowing her, pulling her in. Her hand broke through the water but was swallowed back in just as fast. A sudden breath of air was followed by water, her knees scraping against rocks. She tried righting herself, but the water rolled her in a confusion of twirls and spins, around and around. She would feel her hand brushing against the ground at one point, banging her elbow against a rock the next. She could tell she was bleeding somewhere, but she couldn't tell where. Her head hurt, and she was disoriented by all the rolling. It was just water, water everywhere._

She felt someone tugging her, and the mouth she held so tightly closed burst open for the nth time, searching for air and finally finding it.

She took a breath, a real hard breath. The next moment, she was coughing, gagging, spitting water. She felt it flow through her nose, up her throat, down her skin, over her eyes. She felt an arm around her, keeping her afloat and tugging her through the water. She couldn't tell who it was, couldn't _care_ who it was, but she continued coughing and hacking as she was guided to the edge, where her governess must have been, because she could hear the old woman's screaming and shouting sound even louder and more annoying.

She felt big hands grab her, pulling her out of the water and unto the tiled floor with ease.

"WHAT SORT OF COACH ARE YOU? HOW COULD YOU LET THE OJOU-SAN–" Karin blocked out the shrilly old voice as she felt big, gruff hands pound her back, helping the water find its way back up, where she gratefully coughed it out.

"Well, that was close." It was _him_, and she was more surprised by that she could pick up his voice over her old nanny's ramblings than the fact that he'd spoken. She turned to see him just beside her, sitting by the pool edge, looking the same as always.

"Did you –" She coughed a couple of times, barely any water coming out.

"I'm sort of the lifeguard here," he answered, the pride evident in his voice. "I'm faster than the guy sitting on that high chair thing." He nodded towards a bewildered man who seemed to dress the part, a buoy under his arm.

They heard a long sigh behind them. "You didn't do the bubbles like I told you, did you?" they heard the coach ask, and Karin blushed again. The bubbles were performed to prevent cramps like this. If she had been more cautious and had done them as she was told to, she wouldn't have ended up ingesting so much chlorine.

"YOUR FATHER WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS, YOUNG LADY." At that point, no one was even listening to the poor old woman who was half-frightened out of her wits. It had come as a surprise that she didn't suffer from a stroke from all the screaming and stressing she did in the last couple of minutes.

They heard a loud whistle from afar, and the boy said, "That's my brother. I have to go now." He smiled at her, a canine tooth protruding at one side, giving him a more mischievous look. "Bye." He got up and took a towel from his uncle before bounding off toward a teenager who looked a lot like him. She watched them turn away. It was perhaps the last time she saw him.

"She should be okay," the coach said in the general direction of the governess, almost as if her were talking to himself, "Suigetsu pulled her out pretty quick. She should still be able to swim again next meeting."

Suigetsu, she noted his name, as if it had been a mighty puzzle she had just solved.

_Suigetsu! __That name made her stomach drop._

"There will be _no_ next meeting," said the old woman through her teeth. "Your father will not allow it."

"I'll be fine," Karin muttered. "I can still swim."

_She felt like gagging, but not from the water.__ It continued to pour in, through her nose, her mouth. Her ears were up to capacity, she could barely hear a thing past the mighty roar of the current. That boy was Suigestu. What the hell. What the fu – _

…

She gasped, and water flowed out through her mouth, making her gag and choke. She felt the cold sting against her skin, the arm loosely wrapped around her waist. The arm moved, and she felt a hand against her back, pounding it – what a déjà vu – and the water kept coming out in sudden spurts.

"Well, that was close." She almost swallowed the mouthful of water coming back up at hearing those words. That was when she remembered the boy in her dream – what a dream to have while passed out from drowning!

"YOU!" But before she could spout off a long stream of verbal assault, she was caught in another wave of coughs and gags– her nostrils hurt while water sprayed from them. She could almost taste the chlorine from her dream, and she cringed.

"You. Were. That. Boy."

"The boy from what?" he asked, confusion clouding his face.

"The boy!" she screamed in his ear. "The swimming pool! The coach's nephew or something! I was drowning! You – " She faltered but continued nonetheless. " – saved me!"

He continued staring at her with the same expression. "I've saved many drowning people."

"Argh!" she screeched. "You took swimming lessons, didn't you?"

"Uh… I've known how to swim since I could remember," he said with a shrug. "I've never taken any lessons."

"The swimming pool! Swimming lessons at the pool! You called the swimming instructor uncle!"

"Aren't we supposed to call old people uncle?"

"Your brother came to pick you up sometimes."

"You mean Mangetsu-nii? Yeah, he did." A curious look came about his face, and Karin hoped he wasn't stupid enough to have totally forgotten – if in fact, that dream was really a memory and not some deluded dream she'd made up – goodness knows what that entailed.

"So this boy from your swimming lessons is me?" he asked, that smirk of his coming out again, and she could see that feral canine sticking out.

She hesitated, disconcerted by the look on his face. "Yeah."

"Didn't you…?"

"What?" she asked, irked by his answer. "Do you remember now?"

He was grinning even wider, as if he was about to burst out laughing.

"Wha – " She stopped, ice cold. She felt her stomach sink as the realization set in. She had told everyone at the bonfire that her first love was the boy from swimming lessons. Suigetsu _was the boy from her swimming lessons_.

She heard the sirens burst from her lungs, and she could hear him guffawing over her keening scream, see him roll unto his back with his arms around his stomach. She buried her burning face into her wet hands, but she couldn't block out the laughter beside her as he practically rolled around the gravelly riverbed.

She could almost kiss their faces when Naruto and Shikamaru found them, their flashlight beams swinging back and forth. But that would have provided Suigetsu with something to laugh over some more, so she settled for screaming at them for leaving her with this maniac, who still hadn't stopped laughing.

…

With a huff, Sasuke finally managed to pull Sakura over the ledge where they'd fallen off. With a few more tugs he managed to pull her towards a tree, which she clung on to.

"You weigh a ton," he remarked as he untied the rope to pack it away.

"Don't start with me," she sneered. "I still have the knife."

He rolled his eyes. "If you hadn't led us down here, we'd be playing some stupid camping game with the others by now."

Sakura snickered. "Are you telling me you'd rather be playing one of Kakashi-sensei's awful games right now?"

Sasuke barely suppressed a smile. "Come to think of it, no, I'd really rather not.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Author's note: **Busy reading web comics, manga, digital drawing/coloring and other crap lol. Again, thank you, thank you to the wonderful people who made efforts to kick my butt back into gear. Thank you. And uh, I hope this chapter wasn't so confusing – **the first part is a dream/memory by the way.**


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